


A Fine Line

by Adorable Blondes (Chloe), bansheequeen (queenbanshee), xtremeroswellian



Series: The Luthor Series [1]
Category: Chlollie - Fandom, Smallville
Genre: Chlollie, F/M, Multi, a fine line, adorable blondes, the Luthor series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-08-04
Updated: 2010-08-23
Packaged: 2017-11-23 17:18:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 19
Words: 58,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/624632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chloe/pseuds/Adorable%20Blondes, https://archiveofourown.org/users/queenbanshee/pseuds/bansheequeen, https://archiveofourown.org/users/xtremeroswellian/pseuds/xtremeroswellian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Things aren't always what they seem.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Authors: [](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/profile)[**chloeas**](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/) and [](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/)**dl_greenarrow**  
Title: A Fine Line  
Rating: Very strong NC-17  
Summary: Things aren't always what they seem.  
Warnings: This fic has a lot of Chlex in it, and it is about Chlollie but there is a lot of Chlex. It's dark, full of mature, violent, adult situations and could be triggering, this is your warning. It takes place during season six.

Chloe stood in front of the mirror after taking a shower and took a deep breath, stepping closer and looking at the small cut under her collarbone. It had come so close. Far too close for comfort, she had been seconds from dying and she wouldn't even have _known_ it was coming. Swallowing hard, she dried the area carefully before reapplying the bandages slowly.

With a sigh, she slid the tank top of her pajamas and matching shorts, her head spinning with all the information she had just learned. She was a meteor freak and it was only a matter of time before she lost it like all the others. After brushing her hair and drying it some, she made her way out of the bathroom, stilling a second later when she saw _him_ standing there.

Lex smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "I'm impressed, Chloe." His voice was low, dangerous.

She swallowed, crossing her arms over her chest, but her jaw tightened, "well, go me, I know how hard it is to impress someone like you."

He stepped out of the shadows, crossing the floor to stand in front of her. He dropped his gaze to the bandage over her collarbone. He reached out and slid his fingers across it. "You realize, of course, that you're the only one who managed to figure it out."

Despite her best effort, she winced, but that didn't stop herself from taking a step back and dropping her hands to her sides into fists, "is there a point to this or are you just here to tell me what I already know?"

"That you're a meteor freak?" He smirked, his eyes darkening a little. "You should know by now I always have a point to make, Chloe."

"Then make it and get the hell out of my apartment," she snapped, her eyes narrowing.

"Technically I own your apartment." He was amused at how on edge she was. "Frankly..." He reached out and brushed some hair out of her face, leaning in close to her. "I own _you_."

Her heart was beating fast against her chest and she managed to stop herself from shuddering when he touched her. She couldn't step back, she could feel the back of her legs pressing against the couch already, "just because you managed to kidnap me and erase my memory, it doesn't make me your property, Lex."

Lex's hand dropped to her bandage once more, pressing his thumb over it a little more than the first time. "The fact that I know more about you than your own family speaks for itself."

Chloe winced again but this time, she grabbed his wrist and pulled his hand away, "you know because you stole the information from me, not because I trusted you with it, I'm pretty sure that doesn't count." She told him through clenched teeth.

"It certainly counts. I wonder, Chloe..." He moved away from her, glancing around the apartment. "What kind of power it is that you'll be developing and how you'll manage to keep it under control without going crazy." He turned to look at her once more. "Like your _mother_."

She breathed out in relief as he moved away then stilled again. What did he know about her mother? _How_ did he know about her mother? It had taken Chloe years to find her. But it didn't matter, he was just trying to get to her and she was letting him, "I fail to see how that's any of your business."

He smiled coolly. "You'd be surprised what I make it my business to know. I always get what I want."

"If I lose it, I'll make sure I'm locked up in a place your claws can't reach me, don't worry." She told him, a disgusted look on her face as she stared at him.

"There's nowhere I wouldn't be able to track you down. But whatever makes you feel better, Chloe." He stared at her intently. "Although it would be easier for you if you'd just go along with what I have to offer now."

"I won't willingly become your lab rat, Lex. Don't even bother with it."

"I don't want you as a lab rat, Chloe. I already know what I need to know about you in that aspect."

Chloe narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest, "then what do you want?"

"That's simple, Chloe. I want _you._ "

She stilled for a second, raising her eyebrows then laughed, looking at him, "I won't accept to be your lab rat, do you really think I would want to be your _whore_?" She told him sharply, "you're the most disgusting, slimy, repulsive human being I've ever met. I rather spend the rest of my life in a lab."

"Be careful what you wish for. Because that option can always be arranged," he said coldly.

Chloe couldn't believe he would actually want anything with her, but that was beside the point, "if you're done trying to threaten me, I suggest you leave."

A smirk tugged at his lips once more. "I'll be seeing you, Chloe." He turned and headed for the door. "Oh. And I noticed you had the locks on the door changed. I'll be needing a key since I'm your landlord."

"Don't worry, I'll leave the keys here for you when I move out next week."

He smiled. "I do enjoy a good game of hard to get. Have a great night." He smirked and headed out of the apartment.

"Try impossible," she said through clenched teeth as the door started to close behind him.

"Oh, Chloe. _No one's_ impossible." His smirk widened as he headed away.

Chloe locked the door behind him and took a deep breath as she leaned back against it. If having to worry about what kind of meteor power she was going to get and how she was going to stop herself from going insane wasn't enough, she also had to worry about Lex.

"Let the games begin." Grinning as he headed down the stairs, Lex couldn't help but feel rather satisfied with himself.


	2. A Fine Line

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things aren't always what they seem.

Authors: [](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/profile)[**chloeas**](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/) and [](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/profile)[**dl_greenarrow**](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/)  
Title: A Fine Line  
Rating: Very strong NC-17  
Summary: Things aren't always what they seem.  
Warnings: This fic has a lot of Chlex in it, and it is about Chlollie but there is a lot of Chlex. It's dark, full of mature, violent, adult situations and could be triggering, this is your warning. It takes place during season six.

Oliver was in the middle of his morning yoga routine when his cell phone rang. And not just any cell phone. It was his most private cell phone that only five people in the world had the number to. Which meant either something was wrong, or one of those five people had important information for him. He flipped so he was on his feet once more, raking a hand through his hair as he moved across the floor of his sunny apartment. He grabbed the phone, eyebrows raising when the caller ID told him it was Chloe Sullivan calling. Which meant Clark was probably in trouble of some kind.

Figured.

He quickly put the phone to his ear. "What's up, Chloe?"

"Hey," she held her breath for a second then shifted on the couch, looking down at her coffee mug, "am I interrupting something?"

He cocked his head to the side. "Not really, no."

"I saw the article on the Gazette this morning," Chloe mentioned, pursing her lips together. Apparently Lex had branched out to Gotham or had some kind of connection in Gotham because the team had just destroy a facility there. Of course the article didn't mention them, but she recognized the style.

 

At that, Oliver grinned. "It was a great picture, wasn't it?" There was more than a little hint of pride in his tone.

"Pretty impressive," she agreed, "what was it? Four times the size of the one we had here?"

 

"Five, but who's counting?" he joked.

"Clearly not you," she grinned softly, sipping on her coffee.

His smile widened at the sound of the smile in her voice. "So how's my favorite sidekick, anyway? Anything new in Smallville?"

Chloe pursed her lips together for a moment and sighed, "you know, it's Smallville," she said dismissively, "but I have a question for you."

He frowned a little. "Sure thing. What's up?"

"I was wondering if... you guys needed any help?" She asked, raising her eyebrows a little. Since she saw the article, she had been thinking about it. They were still going around, trying to stop Lex, and since Lex's visit the previous week, she had been wanting to do nothing more than to take action against him and if she was a meteor freak anyway, she might as well be a part of the group of the few people she knew who had powers and hadn't lost it, probably because they were focusing their energy and abilities on helping people.

Besides, they hated Lex as much as she did.

Oliver was silent for a moment, not all together surprised by her question. He'd had a feeling back when she'd played their eyes and ears a few months back that their paths would wind up crossing again sooner rather than later. "We can always use help," he told her, heading into the kitchen and grabbing out a bottle of orange juice. He poured himself a glass and took a long drink. "What do you have in mind?"

"Well," she sat up and placed her mug on the coffee table before getting up, "anything you guys need research-wise and even if you need help with missions, we can figure out some way to set up a connection," she paused for a moment, "I just feel like I should be doing something."

 

A faint, knowing smile touched his lips. "You've got the bug."

In more ways than one, "between you guys and Clark, kinda hard not to get it."

 

Oliver hopped up on his counter-top and took another drink, considering. "Tell you what, Sidekick. I've got some business in Metropolis in a couple days. Why don't we meet for lunch somewhere and we can discuss it?"

She grinned softly and nodded, "sounds good, let me know when you're free."

"I'll give you a call when I get to Kansas," he promised. "So was there anything else you wanted to talk about?" A smirk tugged at his lips. "Maybe you wanted to tell me how much you missed me?"

Chloe paused, her mouth dropping open for a second, then blinked, closing her mouth and being incredibly glad that they were on the phone, "right, you caught me, that's exactly why I called," she smirked a little, lowering her voice a little, "I really just wanted to hear your voice."

Oliver chuckled. "I thought so. And for the record, it's good to hear your voice, too."

"I do have another question for you," she leaned against the kitchen counter and raised her eyebrows a little.

 

"All right, I'll give you an exclusive for the Planet." He smirked.

She stilled, raising her eyebrows, "very funny," she didn't want to assume he actually meant it.

"I'm a funny guy. What's your question?" He smiled and finished off his orange juice.

Her face fell a little but she shrugged, if she wanted an exclusive from him, she'd rather work for it anyway, "were you _ever_ able to have a complete conversation with a member of the opposite sex without flirting?"

Oliver paused at that. "Of course." He cocked his head to the side. "But it seems to come more naturally when talking to some women."

"Right," she paused a little, feeling like the conversation had just gotten a little more serious than she meant for it to be, "just wondering," she stopped herself from making a remark about how she shared DNA with Lois and that would certainly explain it.

"Uh-huh." There was a hint of amusement in his tone. "So we'll talk in a couple days?"

"Yeah, let me know when you get in," she agreed instantly.

"Will do. And Chloe?"

"Yeah?"

"It really is good to hear from you," Oliver said sincerely, a soft smile on his face. "You should keep in touch more often."

She paused for a moment then smiled, nodding a little, "if I start helping you, you'll get tired of hearing from me."

"Somehow? I doubt that."

"You don't know me very well, Oliver, you shouldn't be so sure," she grinned.

Oliver grinned, too. "Well, I look forward to finding out for myself."

"I'm sure you'll get a chance to," she told him, because despite his issues with Lois and the fact that their relationship didn't last, she knew Oliver was obviously one of the good guys and one could never have enough good guys in their life.

 

"Glad to hear it. I'll see you soon, Sidekick."

"See you soon, Oliver."

 

Oliver smiled as he hung up the phone. At least now he had a reason to look forward to his impending trip to Metropolis.

* * *

Chloe arrived at the restaurant a few minutes early, mostly because she was anxious to talk to him and get started on her work for the team, but also because it would be nice to see him again. Since their short conversation, she felt like she really should get to know Oliver better, not as her cousin's ex, not as her possible soon-to-be boss, but as just Oliver.

She looked around and didn't see him, so she checked her phone to make sure he hadn't called canceling or anything and since there were no calls or messages, she walked over to the bar and took a sit, she was early anyway and with his busy schedule, he would more than likely be late.

Oliver was running a couple of minutes late thanks to a board meeting that had run over. He glanced around but didn't spot Chloe at any of the tables. Then he caught sight of a flash of blond hair at the bar and he grinned, making his way over to her. "Buy you a drink?" He sat down beside her and gave her a charming smile.

"That would be illegal," she grinned softly, turning to look at him, his voice was unmistakable, "but I might let you do that in a few more months."

He arched an eyebrow, a bit caught off guard for a moment. "Right. Sorry. You just seem more mature than your age apparently."

"Are you saying I look old?" She raised her eyebrows, turning on her seat to look at him.

 

Oliver rolled his eyes. "Yes, that's it, obviously. I mean the golden hair has so much gray mixed in it, I can hardly believe I know you."

She sighed deeply and looked down, nodding, "I even left my walker at home."

 

"Guess I'll just have to carry you around," he said with a smirk.

Chloe raised her eyebrows at him and smirked, lowering her voice, "I'm not like the damsels in distress you're used to, Mr. Queen, I can figure things out on my own."

"Yeah, well." He smiled at her. "Everyone needs a little help sometimes. Even if they don't fall under the classification of 'damsel in distress.'"

"I'll keep that in mind," she promised, "as long as I never get that title applied to me."

Oliver grinned. "Duly noted." He studied her for a moment. "So, what do you want for lunch?"

"Haven't looked at the menu yet," she told him, getting down from the stool, "don't we need a table first?"

"Cart before the horse. Right." He smirked and slid off his own stool, spotting a table in the corner. "What do you say we get one a little more out of the way?" he suggested.

Chloe nodded a little, grabbing her purse, "probably a good idea," she agreed, getting a little more anxious.

 

He noticed the slight change in her and frowned a little, resting a hand on her elbow and guiding her across the room to the table.

She raised her eyebrows a little but wasn't bothered by the touch, probably just something he was used to doing with the huge amounts of women he went out with. She took her seat and waited for him to do the same. The table seemed far away enough from anyone else's and the restaurant was loud and busy enough that they should be okay to talk about things.

He offered her a smile. "So what's up? How are things?"

"The same," she shrugged a little, "work is busy, still helping Clark trying to find those people he was looking for, what about you?" She felt bad for not telling him about her being a meteor freak, but she wanted to know what her power was before telling anyone about it.

"Things are the same at QI. And you know the rest of my business." He studied her.

"I know _some_ of it," she smiled, "I'm sure there's a lot more going on."

Oliver smiled back at her and leaned across the table, lowering his voice. "Vic thinks he found another facility. This one's down in South America."

She leaned forward too, nodding and pursing her lips together, "when are you guys leaving?"

"Friday." He studied her for a moment. "Interested?"

"In _going_?" She raised her eyebrows, her eyes widening a little.

He shrugged. "Yeah. Not into the facility of course, but it'd be easier to run the mission from there."

"For how long?"

 

"Plan is to be back by Sunday night," he told her.

Chloe bit down on her lower lip, considering, "I don't know if I could be out of town that long..." she paused and took a deep breath, "I don't want Clark to know about this."

Oliver grimaced a little. "Yeah, well. That makes two of us. I could have us back by Saturday night."

She considered him for a moment and smiled slightly at his reaction, "are you sure? I don't want to rush the mission and have something go wrong."

"The plan is to be in and out of there by Friday night anyway," he told her with a nod. "And I think it'd be a good way for you to make absolutely sure you want to be involved in this."

Chloe considered him for a moment then smiled, pursing her lips together and nodding, clearly excited about it, "okay, I can do that, are you leaving from Metropolis?"

He smiled, too. "Yeah, since I already have business here this week, I figured I'd hang around until then."

Nodding, she leaned forward a little, "and you can let me know everything before we go so I can have a better idea of what we're doing?"

 

"Yeah, absolutely." Oliver met her eyes. "I'll get you a copy of the plans for you."

"Thank you," she held his gaze, "and thank you for trusting me to be a part of this."

The smile he gave her was one of sincerity. "Of course I trust you, Chloe. Your help before was pretty much invaluable. I'm glad you called."

She couldn't help but smile back at him, "what you guys are doing is pretty amazing."

Oliver ducked his head a little. "Yeah, well. Just trying to do our part, you know?" His voice was quiet.

Chloe grinned softly and shook her head, "pretty sure this counts as a lot more than just 'your part'."

He smiled, glancing up at her again. "Well, now it's going to be _our_ part."

Nodding, she held his gaze, "can't wait to start," she said sincerely, Friday couldn't come soon enough.

He reached across the table and picked up her hand. "Welcome to the team."

Chloe grinned brightly, glancing down at their hands a little embarrassed then looking back at him, "thank you."

"You're welcome." His own smile was bright, relaxed. Until he caught sight of a familiar figure heading toward them and his eyes narrowed a little.

Lex smiled down at them, but his eyes were cold. "Well, I didn't realize you were back in town, Oliver."

She looked up when Oliver did, stilling for a moment then quickly pulling her hand away from Oliver's. The very last person she wanted to see.

Oliver looked up at him calmly. "Oh, damn. And here I meant to call you and see if you were available to catch up over dinner. What, I mean, us being such good friends and all."

The other man smirked and looked at Chloe, raising an eyebrow. "Chloe. You're looking lovely as usual."

"Too bad I can't say the same about you," she shifted on her chair, doing her best to smile at him, "your head is particularly shiny today, the glare of the light on it is very distracting," childish? Yes. Desperate? Sure. But she couldn't help herself.

 

Oliver smirked at her response.

Lex smiled. "I'll see you later." He met her eyes and smirked again before heading away.

"Jackass," Oliver muttered.

Chloe swallowed hard and composed herself, watching him go before turning to Oliver, "yeah..."

He frowned a little, noticing her face had paled. "Hey, are you all right?"

"Yeah," she nodded, sipping on her water, "just can't stand him."

 

Oliver watched her for a moment. "No one can," he muttered.

"Which is why what you," Chloe paused and tried for a smile, " _we_ are doing is so important."

Something was wrong. He could feel it. If there was one thing he was certain about, it was his instincts. "Chloe?"

"Yeah?" She raised her eyebrows a little. Suddenly feeling slightly nervous.

 

He leaned in a little. "You know, if there's anything you want to talk about--contrary to what most of the people in your profession believe--I'm a pretty good listener."

Chloe paused for a moment then smiled a little, nodding, "thank you," she wasn't going to lie to him, but that didn't mean she had to tell him, "it's nothing that is going on right now, but when it comes up, I'll let you know," she held his gaze and nodded, "I promise. It's only fair, right? Considering I know your secret."

 

Oliver held her gaze, nodding. "Well, I won't push." He smiled faintly. "But the offer doesn't have an expiration date."

"I'll take advantage of it eventually," she nodded, smiling a little more, "I appreciate it, Oliver."

"You're welcome." He met her eyes.

She took a deep breath and smiled a little before opening the menu, "so what is good here? I've never been before."

"Me either. So I guess it'll be a new experience for both of us." He smiled and opened his own menu.

"Yeah, it hasn't been open for long, four or five months maybe," she told him, "but it's always busy so I guess that's a good sign."

He nodded his agreement. "Generally." He glanced up at her again. "How's Clark, by the way?"

"The same too," she looked up from the menu, "he won't rest until this is over, I just hope it's soon."

Oliver nodded a little. "I'd offer help, but I don't think it'd be accepted anyway."

She shook her head, "probably not, he feels like this is his mess, he needs to clean it up himself without risking anyone else."

"Yeah, I get it." He shrugged a little.

 

"For the record, I think this would have been over by now if he let you guys give him a hand," she smiled a little.

"Well, Boy Scout's not exactly a team player." He smiled a bit in return. "Maybe that'll change one day, and maybe not."

"We can give him no choice in the matter eventually," she suggested, grinning lightly.

He smirked. "How do you figure that'll work?"

"Tie him to a chair and not let him go until he agrees?" She teased, grinning softly.

"Which would probably be more plausible if we used green ropes." He chuckled faintly.

Chloe mock sighed and shook her head, "he would just pass out if we did that, maybe it's a lost cause..."

 

Oliver grinned. "Well, hey. Got his better half on the team anyway." He shrugged.

She rolled her eyes a little and grinned, shaking her head and looking at him for a second before looking back down at the menu.

His grin brightened a little. "Bart will be thrilled, too."

Chloe grinned a little and looked up at him, "I'm sure."

Oliver met her eyes again, feeling more relaxed than he had in a long time. "Maybe you'll be able to help keep the kid under control." His voice was teasing.

She shook her head a little and sipped on her water, "maybe we shouldn't let him know I'm single for a while longer,"she smiled.

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh. I thought you were seeing someone."

"I was," she smiled a little and shrugged a shoulder, "turns out this whole secrets and lies thing? Not so good on relationships."

He paused at that, nodding a little. "Yeah, I know," he said quietly, offering her a small, sympathetic smile.

"I know you do," she nodded a little back at him, "I guess it comes with the job, I've been watching Clark go through this for years."

"You know." His voice was quiet, serious. "I really think there's a way to strike a balance. And maybe someday we'll all figure it out."

"Maybe we will," Chloe agreed, watching him for a second, "or maybe we will find incredibly understanding significant others," she joked.

"Or maybe we'll end up with people who'll actually know the real us." He held her gaze.

"Pretty sure that would be the healthier alternative," she smiled, holding his gaze back.

"Yeah, me too," he said quietly.

Chloe watched him for a moment then reached out and patted his hand, "we'll figure something out."

Oliver smiled. "Of course we will. We're smart people."

With a soft grin, she nodded, her eyes on him for a moment longer before she looked back down. Smart people who could not only figure out their love lives, but hopefully, who could figure out how to get rid of Lex Luthor for good.


	3. A Fine Line

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things aren't always what they seem.

Authors: [](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/profile)[**chloeas**](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/) and [](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/profile)[**dl_greenarrow**](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/)  
Title: A Fine Line  
Rating: Very strong NC-17  
Summary: Things aren't always what they seem.  
Warnings: This fic has a lot of Chlex in it, and it is about Chlollie but there is a lot of Chlex. It's dark, full of mature, violent, adult situations and could be triggering, this is your warning. It takes place during season six.

[Prologue](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/888487.html) \-- [Two](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/890925.html)

Chloe looked out of the window of the plane as it took off, she could see the Daily Planet building from a distance and had a permanent smile on her face. She couldn't hide her excitement, ever since Oliver got her the documents on the mission, she had been studying every detail of it. The ability to help them, to be the eyes and ears to the team as they took down one more of Lex's facilities and helped not only to get them one step closer to taking down Lex Luthor himself but also to prevent other meteor freaks like herself from being harmed was exhilarating.

It was just her and Oliver on the plane. Victor was already there, had been for a while, Bart preferred to run and AC preferred to swim, unsurprisingly, really. But it was a ten hour flight, so they had some time before they could actually start their work. She didn't know about Oliver, but she didn't plan on sleeping at all. She didn't think she could. Since finding out she belonged in the krypto-infected group of the population, this had been the one thing that she had managed to focus on and really feel positive about.

She knew when she got her power, her life was going to change, people might not be able to tell, but she would know she was a different person; being a part of this group, however, was probably the only thing that would remain the same. She would tell all of them about her ability, of course, no matter what it turned out to be, and she had the feeling they would be as accepting about it as Clark, if not more and that was comforting.

"Is everyone going to be there when we get there?" She asked Oliver after a long time.

He glanced up at her from his laptop and smiled. "Yeah, they will be," he told her. He studied her for a long moment. "You're excited." He grinned.

Chloe pursed her lips together for a moment then smiled and rolled her eyes, "well, it's a pretty big deal. For me, anyway."

His grin widened a little. "Yeah, well. I'm excited too," he admitted.

She squinted at him, giving him a knowing look and smirking softly, "yeah, right, you do this every week, if not more often than that."

Oliver nodded slightly. "Yeah, but I'm an adrenaline junkie." He smirked.

"No kidding," she smirked, sitting back against her seat, "so you expect me to believe you get excited before every mission?"

"Well, yeah. I mean is it that much of a stretch?" He arched an eyebrow. "Toss in the fact that I hate Lex Luthor and nothing really makes my day more than ruining his life in any way possible?"

Chloe grinned at him at that and raised her eyebrows, "we have that much in common, Mr. Queen."

He grinned back. "I'm aware." He nodded.

Nodding, she glanced down at her laptop that she also had open in front of herself and took a deep breath, "so, half an hour down, nine and half to go, any suggestions on what we should do with our free time?"

Oliver merely raised his eyebrows at her and smirked.

Chloe raised her eyebrows slowly and looked at him for a second then rolled her eyes, "as much as people believe you're a legend, not even _you_ could go for that long," her face flushed instantly, but she forced her smirk to stay firmly in place.

He laughed involuntarily, both at her words and the expression on her face. "You'd be surprised just what I'm capable of, Sidekick."

"I have no doubt," she managed, embarrassed then raised an eyebrow at him, "you should rest, anyway."

He grinned at her and looked down at his laptop. "I don't sleep the day of a mission." He shrugged. "Too keyed up."

She watched him for a moment and nodded, "fearless leader, you have to go over all the details and make sure everything is in order from everyone else's point-of-view as well as yours." It wasn't a question.

Oliver glanced up at her again, a bit surprised by her observation. "Yeah, basically." He gazed at her a moment.

"Must have been nerve-wracking in the beginning," she raised an eyebrow a little, eyes still on him, "probably still is?"

He was quiet for a moment, holding her gaze. "Yeah, it is," he admitted quietly. "As exciting as it is, it's also slightly terrifying. Not because _I'm_ scared. But..."

"...Because if something happens to one of them, you'll feel responsible for it." She finished.

"I would be responsible for it," he said softly. "I dragged them into this."

"Oliver," she rolled her eyes a little, "they would be doing this with or without you," she knew, because she'd known them before she ever met Oliver himself, "what you're doing is offering them a better, more structured, safer way to go about things. Besides, the fact that you have each other and you can watch each others' backs makes this not only safer, but a lot less lonely for all of you."

A small smile touched his lips. "And now we have _you_ to watch all our backs, which makes us all very lucky."

She smiled back at him and nodded, "and maybe it will help our fearless leader relax a little bit, because trust me, if I see something that may not work anywhere, I will let you know."

"I'm not relaxed?" He grinned.

"Oh don't try that charming grin on me, Oliver Queen," she warned him lightly, "you just admitted yourself you get nervous."

"Which I trust you'll never tell another soul." He winked at her.

"Your secret is safe with me." She assured him with a smile.

"I know it is." He met her eyes and smiled.

Chloe smiled a little more at him and nodded softly, relaxing against her seat.

"Let me know whenever you get hungry or if you want something to drink. The jet's pretty much stocked."

"Well, we're in private property," she smirked at him, teasingly, "you _could_ get me a drink here."

Oliver smirked back. "All right. What's your pleasure?"

"I was _joking_ ," she grinned at him and shook her head, "but I will have a coke." Not that she was against breaking a few laws, but she didn't think getting hammered would help her focus on the mission, maybe on the flight back, to celebrate.

He grinned and set his laptop aside, rising to his feet and heading toward the back of the jet. He returned a moment later with a can of coke and a glass with ice. "Here you go, Watchtower."

"Thank you," she took them from him and set them on the small desk in front of her.

He watched her for a moment. "So out of curiosity, what caused you to call me the other day?" he aked as he sat back down.

"Well," she considered her answer for a moment, "we found out Lex was researching on a couple of meteor freaks back in Smallville a while ago. Again." She shrugged a little, it was as much as she was willing to tell him about that right then, so she hoped he wouldn't ask too many questions, "and then I saw the article and I figured, maybe I could do something more about it."

"Is everyone he was researching all right?" There was worry in his voice.

Chloe shook her head a little and raised her eyebrows, apparently, she was going to have to tell him a little more, "no, a few of them died, but Tobias Rice? The guy Clark asked you to help?"

"He's meteor infected?" His eyebrows furrowed a little.

She nodded, pursing her lips together, "yeah, apparently, when he lost his vision in the meteor shower, he got the ability to see other meteor infected people, Lex was using him to track down meteor freaks."

He grimaced at that. "I can't imagine that ended well."

He really had no idea how accurate that statement was. Although, she supposed it was better than she knew now, before she actually got whatever power she was supposed to have than if she was just suddenly surprised by setting something on fire or freezing someone to death. Chloe took a deep breath, willing herself to focus on giving Oliver the information he would need. If he was fighting Lex too, the more he knew, the better, "no, Lex was experimenting on them, erasing their memory and putting GPS devices on them so he could keep track. Like lab rats."

Oliver stared at her with shock. "He was...son of a bitch." Anger fired through him, his jaw tightening.

Chloe nodded, watching him for a moment, "yeah, that sums it up." She said with a sigh.

"Maybe we're going about this wrong."

She paused, raising her eyebrows a little, "what do you mean?"

"I mean we're just cutting off limbs of the beast instead of attacking the beast itself." He shook his head, rising to his feet.

With a deep breath she sat up and shook her head, "you're helping those people he has been capturing all over the world and gathering information, you know how Lex works, Oliver. The more we know, the better prepared we are, the better our chances will be when we're ready for this, but the truth is, as it is, we don't have any solid evidence that he's behind all this and attacking him will only cause him to attack back and we both saw what happened the last time he did," she raised an eyebrow, looking at him worriedly. They had been far too close to losing Bart.

"We both know Lex is the one behind this. He's not operating under the law, Chloe, and neither are we. But eventually it's going to come to making a choice. I don't know, I think it already has. I've just been hesitating." He was quiet for a moment, then he looked at her. "I don't think it's going to be too long before that hesitation will have to stop."

"Of course we know, but--" she paused, frowning a little as she saw _something_ in his eyes, "wait, what exactly are you talking about?"

Oliver met her eyes for a moment and remained silent.

Her eyes widened and she stared at him for a long moment then shook her head, "Oliver..."

"I know. I know, Chloe." He exhaled slowly and rubbed a hand over his face, turning away from her.

As he turned away, she sat up and turned towards him more, eyes on him for a long moment before she spoke, "there are other ways to go about this."

"How?" he asked quietly, shaking his head.

Chloe swallowed and looked away, shaking her head too, "I don't know, but we can figure it out, all of us," she held her breath, "we can get rid of him without you having to become that."

He flinched a little. "I'm not like Clark, Chloe." His voice was quiet, serious. "I don't see everything in black and white like he does. I know the kind of evil that's out there. Lex is a modern day Hitler, targeting people just because they're different. Because he's scared." He shook his head. "You can't tell me you don't see that."

She paused for a moment then shook her head, "I know, Oliver. I know exactly what Lex Luthor is capable of," she held her breath and his gaze, "but you don't have to do this, there _has_ to be another way to effectively stop him," even as she spoke, as much as she wanted to believe her words, she knew deep down that they weren't true, and that scared her.

Oliver felt his chest tighten at her words, but mostly because the look in her eyes told him she didn't believe them anymore than he did. "You're right," he said quietly, moving to sit down beside her. "We'll find another way. Somehow."

Nodding slightly, she pursed her lips together and watched him for a second, "we'll... think about it."

He met her eyes again and nodded, as well. "Look before we leap, huh?"

"Yeah," she smiled tentatively at him and took a deep breath, "best way to go about things when it comes to Lex."

Oliver studied her a moment, then reached out and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear without thinking about it.

Holding her breath a little, she looked up at him, only then realizing just how close to her he was sitting and how much he was invading her personal space.

"Sorry," he murmured, offering a small, faint smile and letting his hand drop.

She raised her eyebrows and blinked, shaking her head, "what for?"

"Didn't mean to make you uncomfortable," he said honestly.

"You didn't," she said sincerely.

"No?" Oliver smiled at her.

"No," she smiled softly.

He gazed at her for a long moment. "You have pretty eyes," he said quietly.

Blinking, she raised her eyebrows a little and smiled shyly, "thank you."

"You're welcome." He smiled back. "Do you want another coke?"

"I'm okay, thank you," she shifted a little on her seat and leaned back against it.

"Sure thing." He watched her for a moment, then rose to his feet once more, returning to his seat again and picking up his laptop. "So tell me about Chloe Sullivan."

Cocking her head slightly, she looked over at him, ignoring the slight disappointment she felt when he moved away. That was hardly appropriate since he had just broken up with her cousin, no matter how amazing he looked and smelled. Blinking, she shook her head, realizing he had spoke to her and was waiting for a response, "what do you wanna know?"

He shrugged a little and offered her a grin. "Anything you want to tell me."

"I think you know the basics, reporter for the Daily Planet, sidekick to superheroes," she grinned softly.

"Yeah, but I want to know more than the basics." He smiled back at her. "We don't really know each other that well. I'd like to change that."

She paused for a moment and smiled, nodding, "yeah, I would too," she had already been thinking about it anyway and they had the time, "I guess you probably know what Lois told you and I can assure you, most of the stories, whatever they were, were highly exaggerated."

Oliver couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Yeah, I believe you. She does work for the Inquisitor," he joked.

"Don't remind me," she sighed, "it's the only time I'm ashamed of being related to her," she joked back, regardless of her cousin's employer, she knew she was just trying out a new career, it was what Lois did.

He smiled. "Well, for the record, every story I heard involving you was good. She thinks the world of you, but I'm pretty sure you already know that." His eyes were serious. If there was one thing he envied, it was family.

Chloe looked at him for a moment and nodded, "yeah, she's like a sister to me, we kind of grew up together and as far as I know, she's one of the most amazing women in the world."

"I'd say that runs in the genes," he told her with a small smile.

She smiled at him and shook her head a little, "I won't attempt to argue."

"Good." He grinned at her. "So you and Lois are like sisters, you graduated from Smallville High...what was that like?" He raised an eyebrow, knowing that Smallville had a way of being very bizarre.

Chloe laughed a little and raised her eyebrows, "well, the second meteor shower started during the graduation ceremony, which considering the rest of our high school experience, it was incredibly fitting."

"That had to be an experience in and of itself." He frowned.

"Well, it kinda makes sense with all the weird things that happened during high school, like when I was possessed by the spirit of the prom nazi during prom because she wanted her tiara so badly," she raised an eyebrow, she just liked throwing stories like that at people and watching their reaction, it was pretty amusing, even if they were incredibly open-minded like she knew Oliver was.

He blinked a couple of times, then set his laptop aside, leaning forward to stare at her. "Possessed by the spirit of the prom nazi?" he echoed.

"Yep," she nodded, "Lois did too, actually, and so did Mrs. Kent. The girl was in a car crash and in a coma, but she had her priority, apparently, and it equaled to wearing the tiara on stage, during senior prom then setting the school on fire."

"You set the school on fire?" His eyes were wide and before he could help it, a laugh escaped him.

" _Almost_ ," she shook her head, "Clark came through just in time like he usually does," she grinned at him with a shrug, "but not until after I had made a complete full of myself and started crying on stage because 'Chloe Sullivan didn't deserve this, Dawn did'," she rolled her eyes, "it was a good thing people in Smallville are used to things like this."

He laughed again, a little harder this time.

She grinned and shrugged, rolling her eyes, "of course that probably wouldn't have happened if _Clark_ hadn't decided to nominate me for prom queen in the first place just because I wrote an article saying how ridiculous the whole prom queen and king thing was to begin with."

"Oh, this story just gets better." He grinned brightly, still chuckling. "So what happened then?"

"Everyone just shrugged it off in the end of the night, prom was saved, people danced, no one got hurt, which is always a plus," she smiled at him, "and the tiara was ceremoniously burned the following day as it should have been."

Oliver shook his head with amusement. "Tell me there were at least pictures to preserve the occasion."

"Not pictures anyone will ever see again..." she raised her eyebrows pointedly and smirked.

"Never say never." He grinned. "Some us of have excellent sources."

"Okay," she raised an eyebrow, "now tell me an embarrassing story from your high school experience, it's only fair."

"I don't think that really counts as embarrassing considering you were possessed." He smirked.

"Of course it does, I was possessed on stage in front of the entire school," she pointed out, "c'mon, tell me."

Oliver grinned. "Did you know that in addition to going to school with Lex Luthor, I went to school with Bruce Wayne?"

Chloe raised her eyebrows and cocked her head, shaking it a little, "no."

"Well, I did. And let me tell you, the guy was trouble-prone as hell. Even more than me." He smirked. "Hard to believe right?"

"Almost impossible," she grinned, "also intriguing, are you two friends?"

He grinned back. "Yeah. Not as close as we used to be, but we still talk on occasion."

"And what kind of adventures did you two have back in school?" She asked curiously.

"Mostly the illegal kind," he admitted with a hint of a smirk.

"Oh," she sat up and turned a little to him some more, grinning, "intriguing, now _share_."

Oliver chuckled at her eagerness, and leaned forward again, resting his hands on his knees. "All right. Well, one time we snuck out after curfew--which by the way was ten o'clock at the time--and we were _seniors_." He grinned. "We may or may not have stolen every stop sign on the campus and put them in random places around the town. And we also may or may not have been slightly inebriated at the time."

She laughed and shook her head, "I can't believe you had a curfew as seniors, I would probably have rebelled a lot worse than that if I did, did you ever get caught?"

He made a 'pfft' noise. "Yeah right. That was where I started my official career as a criminal." He grinned.

"And where did it go after that?" She asked curiously.

Oliver paused. "More drinking. Drugs." He glanced up at her. "The usual."

"Women," she said knowingly, shaking her head, "I can't imagine how many hearts you broke when you were a teenager and those poor girls didn't know any better," she grinned.

"Fewer than you'd think," he told her with the hint of a smile.

"That you know of," she raised an eyebrow, watching him.

"No, really. It was an all boys school." He smirked.

"I know _that_ ," she rolled her eyes, grinning, "but you still socialized, right?"

"On occasion." He chuckled. "Of course that all ended right after graduation."

"And what happened _then_?" She raised her eyebrows, sincerely curious. She might have had a weird life compared to most people, but very few had grown up the way Oliver had and she really wanted to know more.

"Well, I decided that graduation called for a celebration, of course. So I went out on the family yacht with one of my parents' friends, the one who took care of the boat. His name was Hacket." His voice grew a little quieter. "Turns out he was all too happy to have the Queen heir in the middle of the ocean with no one around for miles."

"Oh," Chloe nodded, her eyes widening a little, her face falling "I didn't realize it had happened so soon after high school." She knew about him being declared dead a few years back and about him being found a while later.

He watched her face, saw her smile slip away. "Hey, it turned out for the best," he told her with a small smile.

She raised an eyebrow and cocked her head, "how is being strained on an island for so long 'the best'?" She asked.

"It forced me to get off the booze. The drugs. Made me realize that just because I had money, it didn't make me better or safer than anyone else." He paused for a moment. "It taught me self-reliance. It was just me and the island for two very long years."

"You were completely alone?" She frowned, leaning forward a little as she watched him.

"Not even a ball named Wilson for company." His voice was light. "Until the last few days anyway."

She smiled slightly at him then frowned softly, "what happened then?"

He drew in a breath. "Then...a ship arrived. I didn't know it because I was dying of poisoning at the time. There was a plant on the island that--if it came into contact with human skin the person died within a few hours. Which I learned the hard way. I woke up and there were leeches all over me. And a red-headed woman watching."

Chloe frowned more, sitting up, "who was she?"

"Her name was Tess Mercer," he told her. "She was marine biologist. She and a friend were on a boat, studying some kind of acquatic thing when their ship was hijacked. By drug smugglers."

"Oh I remember that," she frowned, looking at him, "one of them came back with you, right?"

"One of them," he murmured, nodding slightly. "Tess."

"So she helped you?" Chloe asked quietly, trying to read his expression, "with the poison?"

"Saved my life," he said just as quietly. "They knew who I was. They were going to hold me hostage for ransom. But I'd learned a trick or two in that time." He paused. "Got away with help from her and my first homemade bow and arrow."

"So that's why you use a bow and arrow instead of a more common kind of weapon? You picked it up while you were at the island?"

"Well, sort of." He flashed her a grin. "I was a little fascinated with Robin Hood when I was a kid. My dad bought me my first bow right before..." He paused and shrugged a little. "I even took a few lessons when I was younger. My teacher said I was a natural. It was one of those things that fell to the side after everything else happened," he admitted. "But there wasn't food just laying around on the island. I had to find it myself. And that required hunting."

Chloe smiled a little as she watched him, it was hard not to as she heard him, "so you picked archery up again out of necessity and now it's what you do best."

"Pretty much the gist of it," he said with a slight nod.

"And what happened to Tess? Do you still talk to her?" She asked curiously.

"Yeah, no." He looked down at his hands, a guilty expression on his face. "We were together for awhile. Almost a year," he admitted. "I wasn't really ready for the level of committment she wanted. Or...any committment for that matter."

"Oh," Chloe's eyes widened a little then she nodded, "well, you guys probably went through a lot together."

He glanced up at her. "I did break _her_ heart," he said quietly.

She paused for a moment and pursed her lips together, watching him, "I'm sorry."

Oliver raised his eyebrows uncertainly. "I tell you I break someone's heart and you say you're sorry?" He cocked his head to the side.

"Well, I'm sorry things worked out that way," she explained, "I can tell you feel bad about it."

"You are a mystery," he told her with a small smile.

At that, she paused and shook her head a little, frowning in confusion, "I am?"

He nodded. "Yeah, you are. You're a mass of contradictions all the way around."

"How is that?" Her face fell a little, she didn't think that was exactly a good thing.

"It's a compliment, don't worry," he assured her with a small smile. "For instance, you're a reporter. A really good one, in fact. And you have the story of lifetime in the palm of your hand." He held his hand out, palm up. "But you don't use it. Do you know how many reporters I've met that would jump at the chance to publish stories on the things you're privy to? Every one except you." He shook his head. "You're one in a billion."

Chloe paused for a moment and shook her head, smiling shyly, "you have a secret identity, you don't really mix up Green Arrow business with CEO business, do you?" She asked, smirking slightly, "same goes for me, when it comes to one of you guys and Clark, you're completely off limits to my day job, I've tried mixing things up before and it almost cost me my friendship with Clark on more than one occasion, I learned the hard way to keep things separate."

"Still. Being a CEO isn't the same as being a journalist. I mean, the whole basis of your profession is to reveal the truth. The fact that you don't makes you pretty special, Chloe." He paused and gazed at her intently. "And living a double life isn't easy either."

"Journalism has always been my passion and exposing the truth was pretty much my mission in life," she admitted with a soft smile as she leaned back against the seat, "but since I found out about Clark, I realized that some secrets are kept for a reason and I _know_ how much you guys give up on to keep your secrets and I wouldn't want to be the one to ruin all of it for you, besides, I believe in what you're doing and I want to help in any way that I can and if that means giving fellow reporters fake leads to protect one of you, then so be it."

A smile quirked his lips. "Like I said. You're pretty special."

She grinned softly and shrugged a shoulder, "I guess I should just take it as a compliment and shut up?"

"You don't have to shut up." He grinned. "But it'd be nice if you'd take the compliment. I don't usually have to fight this hard to give one to someone. It's kinda deflating my ego."

"I have a way of doing that," she admitted quietly, smiling softly and looking down.

"Why's that?" he asked just as quietly.

"Defense mechanism? I'm not sure." She glanced at him, "It's no big deal."

Oliver studied her for a moment. "You've been hurt." His voice was soft.

"We all have," she pointed out, raising an eyebrow at him and pursing her lips together.

He nodded a little. "I suppose so," he murmured.

Chloe looked at him for a long moment then took a deep breath, smiling softly and shrugging a shoulder before glancing out of the window again.

Oliver watched her as she stared out the window, his chest tightening just a little. Somehow he had a feeling that unraveling the mystery of Chloe Sullivan was going to take a very long time. A smile tugged at his lips. Good thing he liked a challenge.


	4. A Fine Line

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things aren't always what they seem.

Authors: [](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/profile)[**chloeas**](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/) and [](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/profile)[**dl_greenarrow**](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/)  
Title: A Fine Line  
Rating: Very strong NC-17  
Summary: Things aren't always what they seem.  
Warnings: This fic has a lot of Chlex in it, and it is about Chlollie but there is a lot of Chlex. It's dark, full of mature, violent, adult situations and could be triggering, this is your warning. It takes place during season six.

[Prologue](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/888487.html) \-- [Two](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/890925.html) \-- [Three](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/894470.html)

Chloe shifted slightly, her head was pounding, her entire body felt heavy and as she opened her eyes, she closed them again quickly, the brightness of the room making her head hurt even more. With her eyes still closed, she groaned a little and rubbed her hands over her face. The last thing she remembered was being at the farm and talking to Clark, telling him they had to break her mom out of the lab Lex had her locked up in. But then... blank.

And she knew why. Every time her mother controlled her, she lost a chunk of her memory. She just had to figure out what she had made her do then and figure out why. Once she was able to open her eyes and figure out where she was, anyway.

"Welcome back, Chloe." Lex's voice was neutral, but there was a smirk on his face.

When she heard that voice, _his_ voice, she sat up immediately, ignoring the throbbing in her head as she looked around with wide eyes before her eyes fell on him. She didn't have to ask him where she was, the hospital bed and the sterile surroundings told her she was in a lab-like place. In one of Lex's 33.1s. Probably much like the one she had helped Oliver and the others blow up just the previous week.

Her jaw tightened as she stared at him, "where is she?"

His smirk widened a little. "I'd be a little more concerned about where _you_ are if I were you." He stood over her, his eyes cold.

"I know where I am," her eyes narrowed, "I'm in yet another one of your meteor freak labs, or is this the same one you experimented on me in a few weeks ago, Lex?"

"This is a special facility," he assured her, reaching out and resting a hand on her arm.

She pulled her arm back and frowned at him. "Where is my mother?"

He smiled. "Don't worry. She's quite comfortable." He paused. "For now."

She pushed herself off of the bed, looking up at him, "let her go, Lex."

"I could," he acknowledged. "If I had good reason."

Chloe stilled, swallowing hard and staring at him for a long moment, her stomach tight, "what do you want?"

"I think we already had this conversation once, Chloe. My mind hasn't changed."

She stared at him in disbelief for a whole second then shook her head, "you can have any woman you want, Lex, why the hell would you want anything with me?"

Lex smiled, but it was a dark, dangerous smile. "I have my reasons."

The look on his face made her skin crawl, "so what? I have sex with you and you let her go? Is that the deal you want?"

He chuckled softly. "This isn't just about sex, Chloe. It's a lot more than that."

"I won't make a deal with you unless you tell me the terms, Lex." She could hardly believe she was considering this, but she couldn't risk him hurting her mom, not if she could help it.

"You move into the mansion. You do everything I say when I tell you to do it." He stared at her with steely eyes.

Her stomach turned and she took a step back, hitting the bed and stilling, "you have to be more specific than that, what is it, _exactly_ that you expect me to do?"

"Don't worry, Chloe. I wouldn't make you kill anyone," he said with a smirk. "Let's just say I have some old scores to settle and you just happen to be the right price."

"So what, you will hide me in the mansion until you have use for me?" She took a deep breath, jaw set as she stared at him, her brain working fast as she tried to make sense of what he was trying to get her to agree to.

"Oh, no, not at all. You'll be accompanying me wherever I go, of course. I wouldn't leave my wife locked up in a mansion." His eyes were dark.

"...Your _wife_?" Her stomach was so tight, she was pretty sure she was going to be sick. He couldn't be serious, why would he want her, why would he want her to _marry_ him?

"That's right, Chloe. Mrs. Lex Luthor." He studied her intently.

Her head was spinning and still pounding, her brain wasn't hazy and she guessed it was because of the drugs he had undoubtedly given her in order to get her there. Her stomach was turning, her chest was tight, her hands were shaking. She had to control herself. Lex was winning, he was in control of the situation, he had everything she wanted and he would use it all against her if she let him. She stilled for a full second, staring blankly at the door as she willed herself to calm down, her hands in fists against her sides and then, with a deep breath, she looked up at him, her expression blank as she shut everything else out.

"If you want me to pretend I'm your wife, you will have to do a lot more than let my mother go."

"Oh there won't be any pretending," he informed her. "You will be my wife in every way that counts, and in the eyes of everyone else, you'll adore me. You'll be loyal and faithful." He reached out and cupped her cheek in one hand, none-too-gently. "Because if you don't agree, I'll kill her." He gazed at her her intently. "I'll kill your father. I'll kill Lois. I'll make you watch all of it, Chloe. And then I'll take what I want and instead of a mansion, you'll live out the rest of your life in one of these rooms."

Her eyes started to tear up and her fists clenched against her sides, "And if I do that, you will leave all of them alone and you will leave Clark alone." She said tightly.

He smiled coldly. "As long as you don't screw up, no one gets hurt."

She swallowed hard, her jaw tight, "let me see my mother."

"I thought you might see things my way." Smirking, he headed for the door. "I'll have her brought in."

Chloe wrapped her arms around herself and stared at him, holding her breath.

"You're making the right decision, Chloe. You'll see."

It was hardly a decision at all. She could either protect them, or watch them die. She had no choice but to go along with it. For now. Once she made sure they were all safe, somehow, she would leave and tell the right people what Lex was doing. And he would be taken care of.


	5. A Fine Line

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things aren't always what they seem.

Authors: [](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/profile)[**chloeas**](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/) and [](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/profile)[**dl_greenarrow**](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/)  
Title: A Fine Line  
Rating: Very strong NC-17  
Summary: Things aren't always what they seem.  
Warnings: This fic has a lot of Chlex in it, and it is about Chlollie but there is a lot of Chlex. It's dark, full of mature, violent, adult situations and could be triggering, this is your warning. It takes place during season six.

[Prologue](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/888487.html) \-- [Two](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/890925.html) \-- [Three](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/894470.html) \-- [Four](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/896305.html)

Chloe was sitting on the floor, a pile of clothes to her left, moving boxes on her right and she was staring blankly at a picture she was holding. She was four in it. And it was Christmas morning, the last one before her aunt Ella passed away. She was sitting on her dad's lap, her mother was sitting next to them and she was helping Chloe hold up the big box of the game she had just opened. Lois and Lucy were sitting on the floor, Lois' mouth was hanging open as she stared at a half-opened package that was on her lap and Chloe couldn't tell what it had been, but her older cousin had obviously been very surprised and pleased by it. Lucy was hugging a teddy bear that still had a bow on it tightly to her chest as she stared at Lois' present with interest.

A couple of days ago, Chloe had found her mother after twelve years. And then she had made a deal with the devil. Her mom didn't know about that, Chloe was pretty sure she would be highly disappointed in her if she found out. Which was why Chloe was almost relieved that her mom had begged to slip back into her coma, she knew she was making that sacrifice so she would protect Chloe. And Chloe was making this sacrifice so she could protect her mom. And her dad. And Lois and even Clark. Even if Lex didn't really know how to harm him, she didn't want to take any chances.

So now she was packing, packing all her clothes and personal belongings, she wouldn't be needing her dishes, her bed, or even her towels at the mansion. Her new house; where her mother already was with all the best care that money could buy, and a proverbial gun pointed to her head at all times. If Chloe slipped, if she screwed up just slightly, her mother would be dead.

But no one would know that much, all they would see was Chloe turning her back on them and moving in with Lex Luthor. Then marrying him and looking as happy as she could be. She wondered if they would believe her, wondered how good an actress she really was, wondered if they would realize something was wrong or if they would be too hurt by her choices to really care. She wondered what they would think, what they would say.

Chloe stilled when she heard a noise, blinking and sitting up for a moment as she looked around, realizing it was her phone, she stood up and took a deep breath before picking it up without checking the caller ID.

The lies would have to start sometime, might as well be now, "hello?"

"Hey, Sidekick, it's me. Listen, I'm gonna be in Metropolis day after tomorrow. I thought we could grab dinner. There's a new facility that's popped up in Europe. I was hoping you could help me hack the system to get the blueprints and maybe do some mission planning." Oliver's voice was cheerful.

"Oliver," she stilled, blinking and rubbing a hand over her face. She had forgotten about Oliver. Her chest tightened for a moment then she took a deep breath, "Oliver, I can't."

"Oh. Okay, well if Friday's not good, what about Saturday? I stay up late, so if you have to work, I don't mind waiting."

"No," her voice wavered so she stopped, taking a deep breath, "I meant, the mission, I can't do it."

Oliver heard the slight hilt in her voice and he frowned. "Oh. All right. Is everthing all right, Chloe?"

"Yeah, everything is okay," there it was, the first lie. Sure it was one she was used to telling, but not like this. She wondered if she would feel sick to her stomach every time she lied now, or if eventually she would stop feeling at all, "but I've been doing some thinking and I don't think I can do this anymore."

He paused, frowning a little. "Chloe, did something happen on the last mission that I don't know about?" he asked uncertainly, worry clear in his voice.

"No," she even managed a small smile at the memory of the mission, "it was great to be a part of it and... you guys have to keep fighting, Oliver but I, it's just not for me."

Disappointment welled in his chest, but he did his best to force it away. "All right. That's okay, Chloe. It's not for everyone." He frowned, going over every moment of the mission he'd spent with her.

"Thank you for wanting me to be a part of your team," she said sincerely, her eyes tearing up but she did her best to control herself, "I mean it, Oliver, it meant a lot to me."

His frown deepened at her words. Something was definitely off. "If you ever change your mind, there'll always be a place for you with us," he told her quietly, wishing he was in Kansas. "But are you sure everything's okay? You sound...upset."

"I'm sure," she lied, kicking herself. He could tell over the phone, she was definitely going to have to get better at this. Or maybe try to turn it around, "I know I'm letting you down and you need all the help you can get, so I'm really sorry."

"Hey, it's okay," he assured her. "You're not letting me down. Like I said, it's just...not for everyone."

Chloe paused for a moment. That had worked, or seemed to have anyway. Good. It was a start. "I just want you to know that, no matter what, your secret is safe with me."

Now he really knew something was wrong. "I know. That's never been a question."

She was quiet for a second. She knew that was a slip, but she needed him to know and maybe if he remembered that later, he would realize what was happening. But she couldn't let him run head-first into it. She had too much at stake, it was why she was doing this, so she had to try and reassure him just enough for him to know she was okay and he had to wait and plan before he acted.

"So you'll be in Metropolis this weekend? Or were you just coming to talk to me?" She put on her best light, laid back voice and maybe he would believe it.

He grinned. "I'll be in town. But the thought of coming to town earlier just to see you had occurred to me."

Her chest tightened, mostly because a few days ago, that would have been all she would have wanted to hear. Even if it had been just 48 hours, the time she'd spent with Oliver had been more than enough for her to see a side of him she didn't know existed and to get to know him a lot better than she expected to in such a short time. And when you got to know Oliver Queen and his warm, gentle brown eyes that apparently you only caught a glimpse of every once in a while, it was impossible not to develop an almost instant crush on him. He was a good guy, a genuinely good guy, who would also do whatever it took to make things right. He was one of the most amazing men she had ever met and if she was free, those few words would have made her month.

But as it was, they just made this hurt more, especially as she forced her voice to sound teasing, "is that so? I guess I could try to make it to a meal," she wouldn't. She didn't need to put him at risk too. Lex had already seen them together once and he already hated Oliver as it was, he didn't need more reasons to threaten and possibly kill him.

His grin brightened. "I'd like that. I'd still like for us to be friends." He was quiet for a moment. "Maybe breakfast? You can pick the day and the restaurant."

"I would like that too," she said sincerely, but then, "work is kind of insanely busy," she lied, "I can give you a call when I figure out a time?"

"Sure thing. I look forward to it," he said honestly, a soft smile touching his lips.

"I do too," she said a little quieter, which would have been true if she was actually going, but she was going to blow him off and maybe he wouldn't want to see her anymore. She was sure he wouldn't want to see her anymore when he heard the news.

Oliver was quiet for a moment. "I should probably let you get back to whatever you were doing before I interrupted."

"I should get back to it, yeah," she paused for a second, "I'm glad you called."

"Me too, Sidekick." He smiled softly. "Talk to you sometime Friday?"

"Yeah, I'll see how things are," pursing her lips together, she held her breath for a second, "bye, Oliver."

"Have a good night, Chloe," he answered, frowning again as he heard her breath catch.

"You too," she told him before hanging up and taking a deep breath, she stared at her phone for a moment then went to her contact list and changed the name on Oliver's contact to Monica Stewart. She worked at the Planet and Chloe spoke with her often enough so Lex wouldn't question why she was calling her. She would have to go back and do something similar to the other guys, she had no doubt that the names Arthur Curry, Bart Allen and Victor Stone would raise just as much an eyebrow since Lex had all of them captive at some point before, she didn't want it to happen again.

* * *

Lex was at his desk in the study when he heard footsteps coming down the corridor. A smile settled on his lips and without looking up, he greeted her. "So glad you could make it."

She adjusted her purse over her shoulder and clenched her jaw, all the while as she was driving to the mansion she kept thinking she should just go to the farm instead, tell Clark what was going on, but she knew Lex. Her car was probably bugged already and being tracked and he had her mom just a few doors down the hall, she couldn't risk it.

"I want my own room." She said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I'm afraid you're not in any position to be making demands, Chloe," he informed her, the smile remaining in place. "Plus, I can't have my staff getting suspicious. You never know when one of them might be tempted to leak something to the press, and then your poor mother would be the one to suffer again. You wouldn't want that, would you?"

"You pay your staff to cover up your murders, Lex, why would this be any different? I will have to pretend to give a shit about you whenever we're in public, I don't have to do it in my sleep."

Lex's eyes darkened and he rose to his feet, moving around the desk so he was standing in front of her. "I own you," he said coldly, his mouth near her ear. "Here and in public. You'd do well to remember that. Unless you want the murder my staff has to cover up to be that of someone near and dear to you. Are we clear?"

Chloe stood up straight and turned to look at him, her jaw tight, "crystal," she said firmly, "I'll do my best to keep pretending whenever I'm near you, but don't think I'll ever believe my lies, _dear_."

He smirked and kissed her cheek. "Now why don't you go and put away your things, darling? I thought we could spend the afternoon together."

Her stomach turned at both the contact and his words, she knew what he meant and she knew the hardest part was still to come, but she would do her best to avoid it for as long as she could. Even as she forced a smile on her lips, she felt sick, she hated herself for this, "I'll do that after I see my mother."

"Of course." He smiled. "One of the staff will show you to _our_ room. I'm sure you'll learn your way around soon."

"I'm sure," she agreed, she would learn her way around and she would find as much about his projects and experiments as she could. And she would gather all that information and eventually, leak it. Now _that_ made her feel slightly better, so she smiled a little more at him, "I'll see you later." She said before turning around and walking out of the study.


	6. A Fine Line

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things aren't always what they seem.

Authors: chloeas and dl_greenarrow  
Title: A Fine Line  
Rating: Very strong NC-17  
Summary: Things aren't always what they seem.  
Warnings: This fic has a lot of Chlex in it, and it is about Chlollie but there is a lot of Chlex. It's dark, full of mature, violent, adult situations and could be triggering, this is your warning. It takes place during season six.

Oliver Queen was puzzled. Not only had Chloe not called him as promised, but she hadn't picked up the phone any of the times he'd tried calling her in the last two days. He'd stopped by the Planet, and Jimmy had told him Chloe hadn't been at work for a few days. Figuring she was sick, he'd contemplated dropping by her apartment at the Talon, but didn't really want to risk an awkward confrontation with Lois.

Which really only left him with one option.

He drove his orange car down the long dirt road and parked in front of the Kent house, climbing out after he shut the engine off, and heading up toward the porch, then pausing when he heard noises from the barn. Drawing in a breath, he headed toward the facility, calling Clark's name.

Clark stopped for a moment, lifting the frying pan from the oven instinctively so the food wouldn't burn and looking over towards the door. He recognized Oliver's voice and frowned, turning off the stove and putting the pan back down before walking to the door, "yeah, I'm in here," he didn't even know the man was back in town.

He smiled faintly and raised his hand in greeting. "Hey." He ascended the porch steps and held his hand out. "How's it going?"

"Hey," Clark smiled and shook his hand, "surprised to see you here, I didn't know you were in Kansas."

Oliver nodded a little, shaking his hand in return then letting it drop to his side. "Yeah, had some business at the local office," he explained.

He nodded, smiling at the other man, "nothing wrong this time, then?"

 

"Well, I hope not. But I've been trying to call Chloe the last couple of days and she hasn't answered or returned my calls." There was a hint of worry in his eyes. "Everything all right around here?"

Clark stopped at that and frowned, raising his eyebrows after a second, "I haven't spoken to Chloe in a couple of days, last time I did, she said she was okay," and then he stopped again, "is there a reason you need to talk to her?"

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "I'd called her a few days ago to let her know I was going to be in town. We were going to have dinner." He shrugged.

"Oh," he frowned more, Oliver had just broken Lois' heart and he was already going after Chloe? He would have to have a talk with her about that. "I don't know where she is, you should try the Planet."

 

"I already did." He frowned, too, but for a different reason. "Jimmy said she hadn't been there in a few days."

_Now_ Clark was worried, "did you check her apartment?"

He shifted from one foot to the other, and reached up to rub the back of his neck. "No."

Clark stopped for a moment and nodded, "I'll go check, wait here." He told him before speeding out of the room.

 

Oliver drew in a breath and let it out slowly, sitting down on the porch swing. If Clark hadn't heard from her in couple of days, that couldn't be a good sign. Clark always seemed to know where she was and if he didn't, there was something wrong.

When he sped back in, his eyes were wide and his face was a little pale, "her clothes are all gone," he had seen the empty closet, but it didn't make sense, "her stuff is still there, only her clothes are gone."

"That doesn't make any sense." Oliver rose to his feet once more, growing even more worried. "Why would she take all of her clothes somewhere else but nothing else?"

"She mentioned wanting to move, she said she wanted to find a place in Metropolis, but she would have asked for help to move if she had found a place," he narrowed his eyes a little then picked up his phone and tried Chloe's number.

Oliver watched him, his chest growing tight. Despite the fact it would be a blow to his ego, he hoped Chloe would answer the phone for Clark.

Clark rubbed the back of his neck as he waited for the line to connect, his ears perking up as he also hoped to listen to her phone ringing wherever she might be. But then his face fell, "voicemail..."

"Something's wrong." There was certainty in his voice as he looked at the younger man.

He frowned at Oliver and nodded, "I'll go see if I can find her." He should be able to track down her heartbeat.

Oliver nodded in agreement and watched as he sped off. He had a sinking feeling that whatever the other man learned, it wasn't going to be anything good.

* * *

Clark didn't even need to use his superhearing, he was running to Metropolis when he ran past the Luthor mansion and saw Chloe's car parked out the back with the rest of Lex's cars. He stilled instantly, staring for a long moment before listening, his eyes widening when he realized Chloe was, indeed, somewhere inside. He looked around for a moment, making sure he was alone and then x-rayed the castle.

Lex was nowhere to be seen, but Clark found Chloe, sitting in one of the beds, her cellphone in her hand and frowned, not even stopping to consider anything else before he made his way inside, "what are you doing here?"

Chloe jumped, her eyes wide as the familiar wind hit her full force just as she erased any traces of his missed call. She should have expected this, she just wasn't expecting him to come after her so soon, "what are _you_ doing here?" She demanded, glancing nervously at the door then closing it before looking back at Clark.

Clark's frown deepened even more. "Why are you at the Luthor mansions? In one of the bedrooms? On a _bed_?" He shook his head.

She hadn't been looking forward to this, she was afraid of how this particular conversation was going to be like and maybe it would have been smarter if she had answered her phone when he called, "I live here." And she had been living there for four days now, she was just learning how to live with the fact that she had to lie whenever she was around anyone. Clark should be no different, but it was harder. Harder because he knew her and he should be able to see right through her lies. Part of her hoped he would.

He opened his mouth to respond and then backed away by a step. "You--what? Since when? Why?"

"Lex is helping me," she said simply, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Helping you what?" He stared at her in disbelief.

"Take care of my mom," her expression was blank as she stared at him, "you should go, Clark, if I didn't answer your call, you should know I can't talk right now."

Clark stared at her for a long moment. "Why didn't you come to _me_ for help, Chloe? Or even Oliver? Why would you turn to _Lex_? After everything he's done--"

"You have your own problems to worry about, both of you," she raised an eyebrow, "I'm taking care of my own."

He narrowed his eyes at that. "So you'd rather go to my worst enemy for help than to me?" His voice was angry.

"He's not my worst enemy anymore if he's helping me, is he, Clark?" Her eyes narrowed and her stomach turned, but she had to get him out of there before Lex found him, "anyone who gets in the way of him helping me, however..."

Clark's mouth twisted into a hard line. "I never should have trusted you," he said bitterly. And before she could respond, he was gone.

* * *

It was hard for him to control himself as he ran out of the mansion. So hard, he forced himself to run around the country for a few minutes before making his way back to the farm. His jaw clenched as he pushed the door open so hard, it came out of it's hinges, "I found her."

 

Oliver had still been sitting on the front porch when his friend literally ripped the front door off its hinges. Eyes wide, he stared at Clark. "What the hell is going on, Clark? Where is she? Is she all right?"

"She's fine," his eyes narrowed, "she's at the Luthor mansion."

Alarm shot through him. "Why?"

"She says she's living there now, that Lex is helping her." He wanted to go away, he couldn't control himself much longer, feeling betrayed and afraid, would Chloe go as far as letting Lex know everything about him? "She had her phone, Oliver, she didn't _want_ to pick up and talk to me. To us, apparently. She insinuated we're the enemy now."

His eyebrows furrowed. "Wait, helping her with what, Clark?" He frowned, shaking his head and stepping toward the younger man. Despite the faint hint of betrayal he couldn't help but feel, he knew somehow, deep in his gut, that this was wrong.

"Taking care of her mother," Clark snapped, "I should have seen this coming, she's done it before, no one changes that much."

Now his head was starting to hurt. "What are you talking about? Done it before?" He shook his head.

"A few years ago, when we were still in high school, Lionel was trying to find out more about me, he offered Chloe a column at the Daily Planet and she took it, she told me she hadn't told him anything, but that's because she didn't _know_ anything back then, I bet if she had, I would be in a lab somewhere by now, getting tested on."

Oliver blinked, taken aback by the words, by the vehemance behind them. "Okay, look, you've known Chloe a long time, I'll grant you that, but what you're saying doesn't make any sense." He shook his head.

"And you don't know her," Clark's eyes narrowed, "you don't know what she's capable of, she may have told you she will help you, but the second a better offer comes along, she will take it." He stilled for a moment, "Chloe is only loyal to herself, even if she had you believe otherwise."

He stared at Clark. "Or maybe something else is going on all together."

"You didn't _see_ her, Oliver, just sitting there, in a bedroom, not bothering to pick up her phone. She _knows_ what Lex is capable of, she's seen him, but she chooses to ignore all of it because he offered her something and she chose to move in to the mansion because it was convenient for her." His eyes narrowed, "She's on his side now."

"Is she? Or is that just what you believe because you're hurt and feeling betrayed?" He searched Clark's face intently. "I think there's a lot more to this story than either of us knows, Clark."

"Or do you just want to believe that because you think Chloe is a good person?" He said angrily, "you don't know her like I do, you didn't see the look on her face."

"If this was really about Chloe being on Lex's side, why aren't there scientists all around right now trying to turn you into a lab rat? Why isn't law enforcement all over the place looking for _both_ of us?" Oliver shook his head, bewildered and quickly growing annoyed. "Look at how Lex played _Lana_ for months. How do you know he's not doing the same thing to Chloe?"

"Chloe wouldn't fall for that. She would know better and if she was in trouble, she would have let me know. She's doing this because she wants to." He paused, "and maybe it's just a matter of time before it all happens."

His jaw tightened a little involuntarily and he shook his head again, moving off the porch. "No. I don't buy that. Something's wrong, Clark."

"You can keep believing her if you want to, Oliver. I've seen enough," he crossed his arms over his chest and frowned.

Oliver turned around to face him once more, disappointment clear in his eyes. "And you should know better than anyone that things aren't always what they seem. I'd think given how long you and Chloe have been friends, you'd be a little more interested in exploring the possibilities than assuming you know the truth."

"Like I said, you don't know her like I do."

His mouth set in a hard line. "Somehow I have a feeling I know her _better_ than you." Without waiting for a response, he headed for his car, grabbing his keys out of his coat pocket.

"She will turn her back on you, just like she did with me," he warned before speeding away.

"Between the two of you? I'll take my chances with her," he muttered.


	7. A Fine Line

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things aren't always what they seem.

Authors: chloeas and dl_greenarrow  
Title: A Fine Line  
Rating: Very strong NC-17  
Summary: Things aren't always what they seem.  
Warnings: This fic has a lot of Chlex in it, and it is about Chlollie but there is a lot of Chlex. It's dark, full of mature, violent, adult situations and could be triggering, this is your warning. It takes place during season six.

Chloe pressed a kiss against her mom's forehead and stood up, adjusting the blanket around her and standing back for a moment. She spent a lot of time in the dark room with her mom, it was the only comfortable place in the mansion and since she had been spending a lot less time at the Planet to avoid too many questions, she had been spending a lot of time there.

With a deep breath, she opened the door and stepped outside of the bedroom, she still hadn't started her research. When Lex left for LuthorCorp or one of his meetings or whatever the hell he did, she spent her time looking around the mansion, she was trying to figure out what was in every single one of the rooms first. She expected Lex to be gone for a couple more hours that day, so she went to the bottom floor. She had to be careful about not looking suspicious around the staff, so she casually entered the rooms, one by one, walking around slowly like she had nothing to hide.

"Looking for something, Dear?" His voice was even as he stood in the doorway of the small kitchen and dining room area. It wasn't the main dining area, of course--that was much larger. This one was farther in the mansion and usually it was where the staff took their meal breaks.

She stilled for a second then turned around, her usual cold smile pressed to her lips, "no, actually," she shrugged and glanced around, "just figured I should know where to get some water if for some reason I needed it and no one was around to bring it to me."

"You won't have to worry about that, Chloe. Someone's _always_ around to keep an eye on any needs you might have." He smiled back just as coldly.

"Oh, good," she said pleasantly, her face frozen with the same expression, it was about the same way she felt inside. Hollow, still. "I guess I don't have to worry about finding my way down here again, then."

Lex studied her for a moment. "As I've stated before, you're most welcome to go anywhere on the property you'd like. It is your home now after all."

"I know that," she held his gaze, "but the kitchen is hardly the place for a soon-to-be Luthor, don't you agree?"

His lips turned up in a smile. "It is an area generally reserved more for the staff," he agreed with a slight nod.

Chloe nodded, forcing her smile just a little further, "you're home early, everything okay?" It was nice to have managed to shut herself down completely when he was around, especially since she was still waiting for the worst to happen. Although they had been sleeping on the same bed since she moved into the mansion two weeks ago, Lex hadn't done more than touch her arm or kiss her cheek and her forehead. She knew what he was doing, she knew he was making her wait and be nervous and jumpy every time he touched her instead of getting it over with. He was going to make this as bad as he possibly could on her and she had no doubts that eventually, it would happen. She just hoped she could be this disconnected from everything when it did.

 

"Everything's fine," he assured her, studying her once more with a raised eyebrow. "I simply missed the woman of the house." The smile he gave her was dark, dangerous. "I would have thought you'd wandered off if not for the cameras." He nodded toward the small camera in the corner of the room.

It took a lot of effort for her not to look at the camera. She knew they were everywhere, she just didn't expect him to be watching so closely. She wouldn't make that mistake again, "and where could I possible want to go, Lex? I'm perfectly fine here."

He gave her an appraising look. "Quite glad to hear that. It would be unfortunate for many if you weren't."

"Good thing you don't have to worry about that," this time, she managed for a bright smile, maybe this was the secret to this, the more he got to her, the more she smiled. It was the opposite kind of outlet that her features were looking for, but it was an outlet just the same.

Lex returned her smile with an amused one of his own, as if he knew exactly what she was thinking. "Excellent. Why don't you wash up? The cook is preparing us an early dinner. And I have a special dessert planned for you tonight."

 

"Really?" She cocked her head a little, looking at him curiously, "should I wear something special for the occasion?" She knew he would see right through her question and she was counting on it. If he knew she was expecting him to have sex with her, maybe she could delay it one more night.

"As a matter of fact, I laid something out on the bed for you. I hope it's to your liking." He smiled once more. "I'll see you in the dining hall, Chloe."

Her stomach started clenching but she pushed it away, focusing on her smile instead, "I'll see you soon."

"I can hardly wait." Without waiting for a response, he turned and left her alone in the room.

The second he turned around, her face fell and her jaw clenched. She should have known he would be one step ahead of her. He was always _at least_ one step ahead of her.

* * *

She took her time getting ready, but after almost an hour and half, she knew she couldn't wait any longer. The second she had seen the dress on the bed, she knew exactly how ridiculous she would look on it. It was short, far too short and showed far more cleavage than she was comfortable with. On top of that, the high heels had straps that wrapped halfway up her legs and the underwear he had set aside for her was so small, she might as well not be wearing any.

The message was loud and clear: She was his whore.

Dressed like that, she couldn't argue with him. But if she was his whore, then he had to pay for her. And she was going to make him pay. Cameras or no cameras, she started her research in the morning.

Lex was already seated at the table, waiting when she arrived. He caught sight of her and his gaze swept over her, lingered on her breasts for a long moment before he lifted his gaze to meet her eyes, a pleased smile on his face. "Well, don't you just look good enough to eat," he said, his eyes darkening a little.

She took the seat opposite from his and managed a smile even as her jaw clenched, "I wouldn't dress like this for anyone else."

His smile widened just a little. "That was the point," he assured her, pouring each of them a glass of champagne.

Chloe took the glass without hesitation, maybe the alcohol would get her through this, "glad to see we seem to understand each other so well."

"I should hope so considering the impending wedding," he said casually, taking a sip of the drink and watching her intently.

"Is that the special occasion?" She raised her eyebrows slightly, "you want to talk about the wedding?"

"No occasion. Just a nice dinner with my bride-to-be. I don't feel like I'm spending quite enough time with you, Chloe. And the last thing I want is for you to feel _neglected_."

"Oh, Lex," she smiled and shook her head after a sip of her champagne, "I know you're a busy man, you have an empire to run after all. I don't expect to have your attention all the time. I'm not that selfish."

 

"I'm aware," he told her with a hint of amusement. "Still. A man should have his priorities in order. Especially when it comes to his family."

"Of course," she watched him for a moment, "I'm just incredibly lucky to have someone who cares about things like that."

"Naturally. I'm not a heartless man, after all." His eyes glittered as he took another sip of his drink.

"No one would ever accuse you of such thing." She took another sip too, looking at him as one of the staff members entered the room and placed their plates in front of them.

The man who put Chloe's plate down did a doubletake at her dress. "Can I get you anything else, Madam?" His eyes lingered on her chest.

Chloe wanted to say something, to snap at the man and tell him he could take his eyes off of her chest, but she just shook her head instead, she didn't know what Lex would do to him if he realized he had been staring, she hadn't tested the possessiveness boundaries yet, "no, thank you."

Lex smirked at her. "That will be all, Marcus," he told the other man without looking at him.

She watched as the younger man left the room then considered Lex for a moment as she unfolded the napkin over her lap, "I would have thought you would expect your staff to show more respect to your future wife, Lex," her jaw tightened this time, "I don't want them treating me like one of your bimbos."

"He's new, Chloe. He'll learn," he told her easily. "And if he doesn't, I assure you, he'll be taken care of."

She adjusted uncomfortably on the chair, the dress was so tight, she could barely breathe and it was a good thing she was sick to her stomach and not as all interested in the food in front of her, because if she had to eat, it just might burst. So she picked up her fork and poked around her plate for a second before taking a small bite.

"You do like lamb, yes?" He kept his eyes on her, sipping his champagne.

"It's not my favorite meat," she glanced at him, wondering just how far he had planned this. Serving lamb and him being the big bad wolf who was going to tear the lamb apart. She was sure it wasn't coincidental, "but it will do."

"What is your favorite?" he asked curiously, lifting an eyebrow.

Chloe shrugged a shoulder, "never gave it much thought." She didn't want Lex to know anymore about her than he already did. Even if it was something as small as that.

"I see." Right through her in fact, he thought with amusement as he took a bite of his food. "You should make sure you're good and full before dinner is over. You'll need the energy," he informed her.

"Are you going to tell me your plans or is it a surprise?" She forced herself to take another bite.

 

"I prefer to play my cards close to the vest, Chloe." He smiled.

"I would be highly disappointed if you didn't," she smiled back at him and sipped on her champagne.

"I'll have to keep that in mind then." He lifted his glass a little, toward her.

She did the same and sipped on her drink again before lowering the glass to the table, looking away from him and focusing on her food instead.

A knowing smile touched his lips and Lex smirked to himself. This was turning out to be even more fun than he'd anticipated.

They ate in silence, well, he ate and she nibbled, she couldn't help but be nervous, even as she tried not to think about anything at all, she couldn't help herself. And she knew he was enjoying every second of it.

 

He could practically feel her anxiety and he reveled in it. He could tell by how little she ate that her nervousness was affecting her physically. A pleased smile touched his lips. "Are you done, Darling?"

"I am," she told him, looking over at him and smiling.

"Excellent. I hope you have plenty of room for dessert." His smile widened.

She nodded, raising her eyebrows, "what's for dessert?"

 

Lex chuckled softly. "Eager, I see. Don't worry. I won't keep you waiting _much_ longer," he promised.

"I'm a curious person, Lex. You've known that for a while now."

 

"One of the many reasons I find you so...intriguing." He lifted an eyebrow and rose to his feet, moving around the table to her side and pulling her chair out. "Come with me."

She stood up, immediately adjusting her dress and holding her breath a little. They were going somewhere else? She didn't like the sound of that at all, "where are we going?"

"You'll see," he told her, resting a hand at the small of her back.

Chloe glanced at him over her shoulder but let him lead her wherever it was that they were going. He took her down the corridor and they turned right, stopping outside one of the rooms she knew was empty and he opened the door, the room was filled with tables, each one of them had several slices of cakes on top of them, some of them even had entire cakes, there were people behind the tables, no doubt the chefs who made the cakes. People who he expected her to act like his lovely fiancee in front of.

It was a test. He was humiliating her by having her dress like that the first time she had to really play her part in front of people. She wasn't going to give him any reason to hurt anyone.

With her best surprised smile, she looked at the room for a full moment before turning to look at him, "cake tasting?" She asked brightly.

"I told you I had something special planned for dessert." He smiled back at her, resting his hand against her shoulder blades and gliding his thumb lightly against the back of her neck. "I figured we should start making plans."

She was proud of herself for managing not to shudder away from his touch when he touched her, looking up at him with her best adoring look, "I don't know why I'm still surprised at how thoughtful you can be, Lex. I should be used to it by now with all the amazing things you do for me."

"And to think, our lives together haven't even _really_ begun yet, Chloe." He smiled.

Chloe reached a hand to rest over the one he had over her shoulder, "what should we begin with?"

"Whatever you'd like," he told her, kissing her cheek.

She leaned into him for a second then pulled away, turning to the table to the right of the door, "we can start here and walk around," she said lightly, smiling up at him then starting toward the table. She wasn't sure how she was going to manage to try so many different kinds of cake without being sick, but she would do the best that she could.

Lex wound his arm around her waist as they paused at the first table. "Tell us about your cake." He smiled at the woman behind the table.

She looked like she could barely suppress a grimace at the dress Chloe was wearing, but she turned her attention to Lex. "It's a classic vanilla sheet cake with butter-rum icing," she told him with a proud smile.

Chloe smiled even brighter as the woman grimaced, she wasn't going to let the looks she knew everyone was giving her get to her. All of Lex's bimbos dressed like this anyway, they should get over it. She took the cake the woman offered her and cut a piece of it with the fork before turning around and holding the piece out to Lex, smiling brightly, "you first."

He smiled back at her and took the offered bite, keeping his eyes on hers. He chewed thoughtfully, nodding and then swallowing. "Very good."

She took a bite of it too and nodded, setting the plate down and smiling at the woman, "thank you."

Lex led her to the next table and cake, keeping his arm locked around her and pulled against his side. The next cake was chocolate with white icing. He held the fork out to her this time, smiling coolly as he held it to her lips. And then instead of taking a bite of his own, he leaned in and kissed her.

Chloe stilled for a second but recovered quickly, returned the kiss and smiling up at him as she pulled back, "you're giving this cake unfair advantage."

"Well, it is chocolate. It deserves it." He smiled back at her.

She wiped the corners of her mouth and raised an eyebrow at him, "exactly, it already had an unfair advantage."

Lex smirked involuntarily, reaching up to brush away a stray crumb from her mouth. "I like things that way."

"Oh, I know you do," she grinned brightly up at him, "next one?"

"Indeed." He led her to the next table, which happened to be chocolate chip cheesecake.

Chloe took a bite of the next one, her stomach was already starting to hurt, but she was going to do her best not to let it show. "This is really good too, this will be hard."

"We could always have more than one wedding cake," he told her, smiling at the chef behind the cheesecake.

"Well, you do need a Groom's cake," she pointed out, holding a bite out to him.

Lex nodded slightly in agreement, accepting the bite. "I've always been fond of cheesecake personally."

"Is it your favorite?" She asked, setting the plate back down and watching him closely.

"So far," he said with a nod.

"Good, I have no idea which one it mine," she smiled, moving over to the next table and smiling at the chef. And again, and again, and again for what she felt like it had been forever, her feet were killing her, the shoes were brand new and the heels were way higher than she was used to, not to mention the dress. But now it was over, they had just had a bite of the last one and Chloe thanked the chef before she turned to Lex, "I guess we have a decision to make."

 

"I suppose we do," he said in agreement, keeping his arm wrapped around her tightly as he guided her out of the room. "As I said, we can always have more than one."

"Is the cheesecake still your favorite?" She asked, relieved they were walking out of the room.

"It is," he said with a slight nod, leading her down the corridor and toward the front door.

Chloe raised her eyebrow a little. They were going out? And she was dressed like that? She was starting to panic, "where are we going?"

"You, actually. Just for a short trip. You'll be back soon, don't worry." He smiled and pressed a kiss to her temple.

She stilled and shook her head, "I'm not going anywhere."

"I'm afraid this isn't an optional trip, Chloe." He pulled her toward the door a little more forcefully.

Chloe pulled away from him and shook her head, "I'm not leaving the mansion dressed like this."

He sighed heavily. "You're not going into public. And you're already running late." He took her by the arm.

"Running late for _what_?" She demanded, having no choice but to let him drag her to the door.

He smirked as the door opened and two of his security staff members appeared. "Wouldn't want to ruin the surprise." He nodded to them and then smiled at Chloe. "I do hope you behave yourself. I'll be waiting up for you. I thought I'd keep your mom company for awhile while you're...otherwise occupied."

Chloe swallowed hard and pulled her arm away from him, adjusting the dress and looking over at the other men.

One of them made to grab her arm while the other shook his head and stepped aside to let her pass.

"The car's waiting for you, Miss," he murmured, not looking at her.

She looked between the two of them, then started down the front steps and toward the car.

The two men followed her wordlessly, and the man that had let her pass without grabbing her opened the door to the backseat of the limo for her.

Chloe glanced at him then got inside, doing her best to keep the dress from revealing even more than it already was, her heart beating fast against her chest.

He shut the door and crawled into the driver's seat, waiting until the other man had gotten into the passenger seat. Then he started the engine.

She wrapped her arms around herself but didn't say anything, she knew it would be useless to ask them questions, they wouldn't answer her.

Less than twenty minutes later, they pulled in front of an old, non-descript warehouse by the docks. Shutting off the engine to the car, the man in the passenger seat climbed out of the car and moved around to open her car door, smirking faintly as he held his hand out to her.

Chloe glared at him and didn't take his hand, climbing out of the car on her own and looking around for a moment, "where are we?"

 

"You'll be finding out soon enough. _Freak_ ," he muttered.

Her eyes narrowed at him, "Lex will be hearing about this."

He smirked at her, gaze sweeping over her scantily-clad body. "I've worked for Lex longer than you've been his plaything." He shrugged.

"I'm not his plaything," she stepped closer, narrowing her eyes at the man who was at least twice her size, "and you know nothing about me, so I suggest you keep you mouth shut and quit staring at me like that if you don't want to be the victim of Lex's next 'unfortunate accident'."

"Whatever you say." He smirked.

"Shut up, Donovan," the other man said harshly as he climbed out of the driver's seat. "You stay with the car." He glared at the man.

She gave the Donovan man one more look then started toward the door, not waiting for the second man who seemed a lot less repugnant, but she didn't want to get her hopes up.

He caught up with her quickly, walking beside her. "He's a jackass," he said quietly, taking his jacket off and handing it to her.

Chloe raised her eyebrows a little and looked over at him, pulling the jacket tighter around herself, "thank you."

"You're welcome." He opened the door for her and then followed her inside.

She stilled for a moment when saw the inside of the place. It was a lab. "what is going on?"

"Mr. Luthor scheduled you for some tests to see if your meteor ability is close to surfacing," he told her quietly.

Chloe looked ahead again and took a deep breath, nodding slightly as her jaw tightened. "How long will I be here for?"

He glanced at her, a hint of guilt on his face. "I don't know," he admitted. "But I do know you'll be done tonight."

She wrapped her arms around herself and sighed deeply, "thank you for letting me know," she said sincerely, glancing at him, "probably better to just get it over with."

He nodded slightly. "I'm Joseph," he said quietly, holding his hand out to her.

Chloe hesitated for a second then took his hand, shaking it, "I'm Chloe, but you probably already know that," she tried for a smile, but it wasn't forced this time.

He smiled back faintly as he returned the handshake. "I did," he said with a nod. He glanced down the corridor. "I'll be outside when you're finished."

"Thank you, Joseph," she said one more time, looking at him before starting down the corridor. At least she was the one being experimented on this time, not her mom.

 

* * *

Lex was already in their bedroom when she returned that night. He was lying in bed, reading _The Art of War_ when he heard the footsteps. A faint smirk tugged at his lips as Joseph carried Chloe inside the room. She was pale, trembling a little in the young man's arms.

"I trust everything went well?"

"Dr. Sheridan said the results would be in by tomorrow afternoon," Joseph responded, not looking at Lex as he settled Chloe in the bed.

"Excellent. Close the doors on your way out," Lex responded, watching him intently even as he left the room.

Her entire body was hurting, she didn't know what exactly they had done to her, but the source of the pain seemed to be around her stomach, she closed her eyes and curled up on her side, away from Lex as she wrapped her arms around herself.

He reached out and pulled the hair back out of her face, pressing a kiss to her neck. "Would you like me to get you some aspirin?"

"No," she shuddered, closing her eyes tighter.

 

He smiled, kissing her shoulder lightly. "We should get you out of that dress. Would hate for it to get wrinkled in the middle of the night."

Chloe could care less if the dress was going to wrinkle, but she did want to get rid of it, still shaking slightly, she reached behind herself, trying to undo this zipper, "I'm not wearing this again." She managed to say.

 

"A Luthor rarely wears the same thing twice," he assured her, stilling her hand with his own and sliding the zipper down for her. "We can afford not to." His fingers brushed lightly over the clasp of her bra.

"I'm not wearing anything like it, I'm not dressing like a whore," she didn't even try to move away from his touch, she just wanted to get rid of the dress, her stomach hurt so much and she was starting to shake harder, she was pretty sure she had some kind of fever. He could do whatever the hell he wanted.

"I'll chalk this sudden burst of willfullness up to the pain this one time," He told her, sliding down the bed and pulling the dress off her. He moved to the closet and hung it up.

Chloe curled up again, wrapping her arms around herself as she tried to will herself to stop shaking.

Lex moved back to the bed, laying down beside her once more and sighing as he tugged the covers up and over her before picking up his book again. "Goodnight, Chloe."

She sighed deeply in relief and pulled the covers tightly around herself. One more night.


	8. A Fine Line

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things aren't always what they seem.

Authors: chloeas and dl_greenarrow  
Title: A Fine Line  
Rating: Very strong NC-17  
Summary: Things aren't always what they seem.  
Warnings: This fic has a lot of Chlex in it, and it is about Chlollie but there is a lot of Chlex. It's dark, full of mature, violent, adult situations and could be triggering, this is your warning. It takes place during season six.

Oliver exited the board of directors meeting at Smallville General. He'd been cordially invited to the meeting while he was in town, in hopes on their part that he'd become a major donor to the hospital. They'd lain out their proposal for a new wing--designed to better treat oncology patients. Sighing softly as he walked down the hall, he adjusted his tie, distracted as he had been for the past couple of weeks.

He'd tried calling Chloe several more times, had left her numerous voicemails, had even sent a covert email and nothing. No response of any kind.

Despite Clark's insistence that Chloe was simply betraying them, Oliver found no evidence of that whatsoever. And he just didn't buy it.

As he rounded the corner toward the elevator, the last thing he expected to see was some guy he didn't recognize carrying the very person he'd just thinking about off the elevator. "Chloe?"

Lex was gone when she woke up that morning. Instead of feeling better, she felt worse. A lot worse. She was barely able to make it to the bathroom to be sick. And then she had laid there on the cold floor for a long time. She had no idea how long it had been when she heard Joseph calling her name then picking her up. Even now she wasn't completely sure what was going on.

She lifted her head when she heard a familiar voice calling her name and squinted weakly, "Oliver?" she whispered, she was pretty sure she was hearing things.

 

Joseph paused momentarily, looking uncertainly between the blond in his arms and the blond moving closer.

"What's going on?" His voice was filled with worry and he reached out without thinking, smoothing the hair back from her eyes.

She closed her eyes again at the gentle touch, "I got sick." She said quietly, even then remembering to lie.

"Give her to me," Oliver said firmly, leaving no room for argument in his tone. "She's a friend."

Joseph hesitated only a moment, then carefully shifted her into Oliver's arms.

 

"You're gonna be okay," he murmured. He glanced up. "Hey! I need some help over here." He carried her toward the nurse's station.

Chloe whispered a thank you to Joseph then relaxed a little, "I'm cold."

Oliver pressed his lips against her forehead, wincing. "You're burning up, Chloe. How long have you been sick?" At that moment he wasn't even thinking about Lex Luthor. He was just worried about her health.

"This morning," she lied again, unconsciously holding on to his jacket.

He glanced up as one of the nurses motioned him toward an exam room. "We'll figure it out," he promised softly, carrying her toward the room.

Chloe leaned her head against his arm heavily for a moment then opened her eyes, frowning slightly, "you need to leave."

"That's not gonna happen," he informed her, laying her down gently on the exam table as the nurse left the room for a moment.

"I want you to leave," she tried to be firm, looking up at him.

He gazed down at her intently, searching her eyes. "No, you don't," he whispered. The way that she'd clung to his jacket, clung to _him_ the moment he'd taken her from the arms of the other man backed up his argument. He moved over to the sink, wetting a wash cloth with cool water and moving to her side again, gently dabbing her face with it.

She shuddered, turning her head away from him, "you have to go, I need to call Lex."

Oliver forced himself to take a deep breath as he gently draped the cloth over her forehead. He bent his head close to hers. "Listen to me," he whispered. "Whatever's going on, I'm going to figure it out, Chloe. Because I know that something's not right."

Chloe took a deep breath and forced her eyes open, turning to look at him, "stay away from me."

He held her gaze without responding.

"I mean it," she needed another deep breath, "go away, Oliver, I don't want you near me." She fought to keep her eyes open, she needed him to believe her.

Oliver's jaw tightened ever-so-slightly. "I'm not Clark, Chloe. I _will_ figure this out." He turned and headed for the door, hands curling into fists at his sides.

Chloe sighed deeply, closing her eyes tightly as she sobbed quietly, relieved that it had worked.

 

He shut his eyes as he stood just outside the room, his chest tightening at the sound of her soft crying. When he heard footsteps approaching, he looked up and spotted the man who'd carried her into the hospital. Setting his jaw, he moved toward the man, catching him by the arm and pulling him down the corridor and onto the elevator wordlessly.

Joseph frowned and pulled his arm back, immediately shoving Oliver away when they were inside the elevator but didn't say anything.

"Do you know who I am?" he asked evenly.

"Your name doesn't impress me, Mr. Queen," he said just as evenly, adjusting his jacket.

Oliver's gaze was intense. "Do you like working for scum like Lex Luthor?"

"I need the money."

 

He nodded slightly. "How would you feel about tripling your salary?"

"What do you want?"

 

"I want you to keep an eye on things that involve your employer and Chloe," he said simply. "I want to know what's going on." He pulled a card out of his pocket and handed it to him. "That has my personal cell number on it."

"Can you offer protection?" Joseph asked, pocketing the card without looking at it.

 

Oliver studied him. "For you or your family? Or both?"

"My family." He said firmly.

 

"All I need is an address and I can guarantee no one's going to get near them," Oliver said with a nod.

Joseph stared at him for a moment then nodded, "I'll contact you."

 

"Chloe doesn't find out about this," he said quietly.

"Understood," he nodded once then pressed one of the floor buttons in the elevator, turning around and walking out when the doors slid open.

Oliver watched him go but didn't follow. His stomach was tight with malease, his hands curling around the handles behind him. He would get to the bottom of this, one way or another.

* * *

Chloe shifted slightly against the pillows and stared blankly out of the bedroom window. She had managed to get out of the hospital saying she wanted a private doctor instead, she didn't want Joseph to get in trouble for taking her to the hospital in the first place so she hoped Lex wouldn't focus on that. Her fever was pretty much gone and apparently she had been dehydrated. She didn't let them run any tests for fear of what they might find in her blood, so once she was hydrated enough again and with some medicine for the nausea and fever, she managed to get them to release her and now she was back at the mansion, laying in bed. She hadn't heard from Lex at all yet and it was almost eight at night, not that she cared. The longer he was away, the better.

Lex was loosening his tie as he made his way into the bedroom. "Feeling better, I trust?" he asked as he shut the doors behind him.

She didn't bother turning to look at him, "some."

"Good." He shrugged out of his suit jacket and folded it neatly over the back of the chair. "You'll know what to expect next time and another hospital visit won't be required."

Her jaw tightened and she wrapped her arms around herself, "I'll need medication for the fever and the nausea," there was no point telling him there would be no next time.

"Consider it done," he told her with a nod. "And I'll hire a private physician just to avoid any unnecessary drama should the drugs not to be effective." He unbuttoned his shirt.

Chloe sighed, almost sincerely relieved by the information, "how often are you going to do this?"

"Do what?" he asked, back to her and a smirk on his face.

She turned to look at him and her jaw tightened, she sighed and pushed the covers off of herself, standing up slowly.

Lex turned to face her, raising an eyebrow.

 

"I haven't seen my mom today, I'm going to check in on her," she told him, starting to make her way to the door.

"I think considering what you've been through today, you should be resting in bed," he responded.

"I'll be fine," she knew it wasn't a suggestion, but she reached for the door handle anyway.

His jaw tightened and he moved toward her, grabbing hold of her arm, knowing full well it was the same arm and the same spot they'd drawn blood from her the previous night. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to _insist_."

She winced, closing her eyes for a second then turning to look at him. She had planned on laying down with her mom and not coming back, but that wasn't going to happen, "if you insist."

"I do," he responded, tightening his grip on her for a moment and then releasing her once more. He reached out and locked the locks on the doors.

Chloe took a deep breath, she still felt weak, and turned around, walking back to the bed, pausing and steadying herself on the bed as she walked around it as her knees gave in slightly.

 

He watched her for a moment, then finished changing out of his work clothes, leaving him only in a pair of boxer shorts as he moved to the opposite side of the bed from her.

She settled back in the bed, sighing softly and closing her eyes, not bothering to open them to look at Lex as he got into bed.

"See? Isn't this better?" he asked as he rolled on his side so he was facing her.

Although she felt him moving, heard him talking, she kept still with her eyes closed, she didn't have the energy.

He smiled at her lack of response and leaned over her, kissing her mouth. "Sweet dreams."

Chloe opened her eyes at that and glared at him, "how can you sleep at night?"

 

"The sheets are very comfortable," he told her, dropping his mouth near her ear. "You should feel grateful, Chloe. I've required _very_ little of you up to this point."

"I don't care what you require of me," she said, shivering away from his mouth.

"For your own sake, I do hope you learn to control that mouth of yours soon." He paused. "Although I do have other ideas on how to make it more useful."

"I won't be anything but respectful in front of people, but here, you get to hear what I really think and if you think you can scare me by insinuating you'll have sex with me, you can think again." She said blankly and she knew it was a mistake, but she was so tired of everything already, she had to let it out.

Lex chuckled softly. "There's no insinuation here, Chloe. I will have you when I want you, anywhere that happens to be at the time. Make no mistake about that. I own you. Don't forget that."

"This won't last forever, Lex," she promised.

He smiled coldly. "You're right. Eventually one of us will die." He traced the shell of her ear with his tongue, then rolled away from her abruptly, reaching out and flipping the lights off. "Goodnight, Chloe."

She wiped a hand over her ear in disgust and turned her back to him, staring out of the window and wishing she had what it took to kill him in his sleep. Because he was right, for this to end, one of them would have to die.


	9. A Fine Line

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things aren't always what they seem.

Authors: chloeas and dl_greenarrow  
Title: A Fine Line  
Rating: Very strong NC-17  
Summary: Things aren't always what they seem.  
Warnings: This fic has a lot of Chlex in it, and it is about Chlollie but there is a lot of Chlex. It's dark, full of mature, violent, adult situations and could be triggering, this is your warning. It takes place during season six.  
Extra Warning: This is where it starts to get much darker. Much, much darker. Read with caution. Seriously. *runs away*

Oliver stood in the middle of the clocktower living room, arms folded across his chest as he looked around at the other members of the team he'd assembled. "I hesitated in bringing you here for this, but I felt you needed to know what's going on." He drew in a breath and let it out slowly. "Chloe's moved into the Luthor mansion."

Bart, who was chewing on a slice of pizza, stopped and frowned, "she did what?" He asked, looking from Oliver to AC and Victor and making sure they looked as shocked as he felt before looking back at Oliver.

He glanced at Bart with a slight nod. "I know. Clark believes she's betrayed us."

AC frowned, and looked at Victor, then Bart before glancing at Ollie again. "She wouldn't do that. Would she?" There was a hint of uncertainty in his voice.

"No. I don't think so." Oliver shook his head. "A few days ago I was at a hospital board meeting in Smallville. A man who works for Lex brought Chloe in. She was extremely sick. High fever. He was carrying her."

Victor frowned worriedly at that, "what was wrong with her?"

Bart didn't give Oliver time to answer the question, "why didn't you take her?"

"She told me she wanted me to leave her alone," he said to Bart, his jaw tightening a little. Then he glanced at Victor. "I'm not sure what was wrong with her. Yet. I was hoping you could hack into the hospital records and find out."

Victor nodded a little, "yeah, not a problem."

Bart crossed his arms over his chest and frowned, "why would she do that? If Luthor's got her?"

"My guess? He's holding something over her head. Something big." He looked at Bart and then picked up a couple of tiny objects off the table, holding them out toward the younger man.

 

"These are microscopic cameras. You think you'd be interested in planting them strategically around the mansion?"

Without blinking, Bart took them eagerly and nodded, "yeah, but you sure you don't want me to just grab her and bring her here instead?"

"No. Not yet. Not until we know for sure what's going on," he said quietly.

Bart frowned a little but shrugged and then grinned, "good thing I know the mansion inside out, should I go now?" He planned on taking a look at Chloe too, just in case.

Oliver nodded slightly and didn't blink even as the younger man disappeared. He glanced at AC and drew in a breath. "I don't have an assignment for you, but I'd appreciate if you stuck around for the time being." He glanced at Vic. "All of you."

AC nodded. "Sure thing, Boss."

Vic nodded too, "yeah, no problem, I'll go get started on those medical files," he said, moving over to the computer station.

"Thanks, guys," he said quietly.

With any luck, they'd have some answers soon.

* * *

Chloe had finally started her research, she could have sworn that Lex knew what she was planning when he dragged her to the lab a few nights ago and she had to delay this a few more days. She had been planning this for a couple of days now and she knew she couldn't use her laptop or her work computer to look into Lex, so she had found a place that rented laptops, paid in cash, and used a public network. It was as untraceable as she could manage.

Her main focus was to find information on all the 33.1 facilities that she could, she planned on sending the information anonymously to Oliver once she did, but she also wanted to know what kind of information he had been able to find during his tests on her, she wanted to know if she was any closer to getting her ability too.

Inside the mansion, there was usually one main place that Lex kept his research. The study. She didn't wait long after he left this time to make her way to the third floor corridor and inside the double-doors. She knew for sure that he had a conference meeting that morning, in Metropolis, she saw him getting into the helicopter and she saw it taking off, there was no way he could get back without her hearing him landing.

Chloe locked the doors behind herself and took a deep breath, she knew there were cameras, but Lex was in the air right now, he couldn't see her, not for a while. She considered the laptop that was over the desk for a moment then turned away from it. She knew about the secret safe in the study, if she could get it open she might be able to find something valuable. She needed _something_ to give her power over Lex.

The keypad for the safe didn't have numbers in it. It had letters. Lex did always seem to like his passwords to be words. After what was probably half an hour, the door slid open, 'Julian', she should have known, it had been his password three years ago and it seemed that Lex's obsession with his little brother was still as strong as always.

With a deep breath, she walked inside and pulled the door closed almost all the way behind herself, taking off one of her shoes and using it to prop it open so she would make sure she didn't get locked in there, the vault was small and she winced at a few of the objects kept in there. A piece of kryptonite, one of Oliver's arrows, one of the high school rings with the red kryptonite. At least, once she was free, she knew she could come back and take all of it so he wouldn't be able to research on it anymore.

But she wasn't looking for that, she wanted information, files, so she started going through the cabinets, some of the drawers were completely empty and she frowned a little, but kept going, she found the file on her mom and pulled it out, she also found information on Tobias, but one name made her still completely, 'Queen, Oliver', why would Lex have anything on Oliver, he wasn't a meteor freak, he wasn't a metahuman or anything more than human. Was he?

She pulled the folder quickly, opening it and starting to read it, there wasn't a lot in it, but her stomach turned as soon as she saw _what_ was in it. Newspaper clippings about Green Arrow, about the explosion they had caused in Metropolis a few months ago, about the mission Chloe had gone with them to South America for, about the one in Amsterdam that Chloe had turned Oliver down on. All of them, every single one. Lex knew. He knew exactly who was responsible for it.

With a deep sigh, she put the folder on top of the pile of the ones she wanted to look into, but now this whole thing felt useless. How could they possibly destroy Lex if he was so far ahead of them? She kept going through the files, one by one, checking on names she recognized, she hadn't found a single thing about herself, but she did find something else that made her sick. A whole file on Clark and apparently, Lex knew a lot more about him than they thought too. He knew about his abilities, not all of them, but speed and strength, and the worst part of it was that he seemed to know the effect that Kryptonite had on Clark. Even though he didn't know how or why, he knew it weakened him.

Chloe swallowed deeply and kept going, once she was sure there was nothing on herself, she slid to the floor with the files, an ear outside in case she heard the helicopter and started reading. She had to know exactly how much Lex knew and she had to find a way to warn them.

* * *

Lex arrived home hours later in a surprisingly good mood. They ate dinner together and he made pleasant conversation with her, enjoying the fact that she was already on edge and he was making her more so under the guise of friendly normalacy. After dinner he wound his arm around her waist. "And how was your day, Dear?"

She was sure his good mood was a bad sign, she was sure it meant he knew exactly what she had done and was torturing her for as long as he could before making her pay for it, "uneventful," she answered, "I didn't go to the Planet today, just spent time with my mom and around the mansion."

"Oh?" There was a hint of surprise in his tone. "You've been spending less and less time at the Planet. Is everything all right there?" He guided her toward the study.

"Yeah, everything is fine," she forced a smile as she realized the direction they were going, "I just rather be home more."

"I never took you for one who would rather be a kept woman, Chloe," he teased, not bothering to shut the doors to the study once they were inside. "Wine?" He dropped his arm from around her and moved to the wet bar, gathering two glasses.

"Please," she shrugged a shoulder, "and that's not it, I just... I went twelve years without seeing my mom, I guess I'm just trying to make up for lost time," or at least, that would be the excuse she would be focusing on, "even if she can't talk back, I know she can hear me and she knows I'm there with her."

Lex nodded thoughtfully, pouring each of them a glass of wine, but hers only had a little in it. He carried the glass over to where she stood. "Understandable." He gazed at her intently.

"Thank you," she told him, looking down at her glass then at him with a forced amused expression, "is this all I'm allowed?" She said in her best teasing voice.

He smiled. "Well, you aren't of age yet. And I am a law-abiding citizen after all." There was genuine amusement in his eyes. He didn't want her to be at all out of it, truthfully. He stepped closer to her, still smiling. "Keep smiling," he told her, his voice dropping slightly. "We're being watched."

Chloe raised her eyebrows a little, still smiling at him, "we are? Who is watching?"

"If I had to guess, I'd say it was your good friend Oliver Queen." He reached out and touched her cheek gently, stroking it with his thumb before taking a sip of his wine. "Or should I say the Green Arrow?" He arched an eyebrow.

She swallowed hard and her grip on her glass tightened but her smile didn't slip for one second, "why would Oliver want to see what goes on in here? Are you sure they are not your dad's? He seems to like keeping a close eye on you," she sipped her own wine.

"LuthorCorp has its own line of microscopic cameras. And my guess is Oliver wants to keep an eye on Watchtower and make sure she's not betraying any of his secrets that he doesn't know have already been uncovered." He smiled.

Chloe grinned softly at him and raised her eyebrows, "you're so cute, showing off how much you know. I almost feel like I should fake surprise."

Lex grinned back at her. "I wouldn't be worried about faking _surprise_ , Chloe." He leaned back against his desk, setting down his glass of wine and reaching out to take hers, as well. "Undress."

She stilled for a moment then took a deep breath, taking her top off and staring at him, "is that what this is about? You're jealous you weren't invited to be a part of Oliver's club?"

He chuckled at that. "No. This is about making sure Oliver and your other friends believe this is real. I guarantee it won't be pretty for any of them if they're given any reason to believe otherwise." He reached out and tugged her closer to him, resting his hands on her hips and brushing his lips lightly over hers. "So you better make it seem real, Chloe." He slid a hand down her arm.

Chloe just stared at him for a moment then reached over and started undoing his shirt, "assuming the cameras are theirs, what makes you think they are watching?"

He reached up and stilled her hands, catching them in his own and smiling sweetly. "People don't plant cameras if they're not watching, Chloe," he told her, kissing her cheek. "Now finish undressing."

"I thought you wanted it to look real, Lex," she reached down and unzipped her skirt, "they know me, they wouldn't expect me to let you do all the work," she smiled at him as she pushed her skirt down, her stomach turning at the though that someone might actually be watching this.

"But they know I like to be in control," he said, watching her intently. "And trust me, I won't be doing all the work." He reached out and stroked her hair lightly, affectionately, his smile soft but his eyes cold.

Chloe watched him for a second and smiled sweetly, "I wouldn't expect you to, you don't like doing much work yourself."

Lex smiled back at her, placing a kiss against her forehead and reaching behind her to undo the clasp of her bra. "I'm actually surprised he was smart enough to consider planting cameras. I wonder, though...if he believes you've betrayed his trust...would he set out to ruin you himself?" He kissed her shoulder as he slid the bra straps down her arms.

"I have no doubt," she swallowed, feeling exposed but forcing herself not to try and cover herself as he took her bra off, "especially since Oliver never trusted me with his secret, I figured it out on my own."

"Well, you always have been too nosy for your own good, haven't you?" He smiled, letting the bra fall to the floor and leaning back, letting his gaze sweep over her. "Can't blame him for not trusting you. You do have a tendency to turn on the people who place their trust in you." He reached out and hooked his thumbs into the elastic waistband of her underwear. "I'm sure Clark has filled him in on the way you turned your back on _him_ not that long ago."

Chloe couldn't suppress the shudder as he started pulling off her underwear, "maybe you two should team up, maybe two of the most powerful men in the world would actually be enough to get rid of me." She didn't believe for a second that Oliver would believe she wanted this, not after their conversation on the plane, but maybe it was better if he did.

"Oh, I don't need help from a guy who has a Robin Hood fetish." He smiled, leaning in and kissing her neck before tugging her underwear down the rest of the way, wrapping an arm around her waist as he made her pick up her feet to get them off her the rest of the way. "And I don't want to be _rid_ of you, Chloe." He pressed his hand against the small of her back, pulling away to look at her. He studied her for a moment. "You're not as beautiful as Lana, but you're smarter than she is, so that will have to do." He leaned against his desk. "Undo my pants, Chloe."

Her jaw tightened and she raised an eyebrow, "since I'm not as beautiful as she is, why do you want me here instead of her?"

Lex smiled. "I got what I wanted from Lana already. But you? Well, given the circumstances, you have so much more to offer me."

"And what, exactly, do you think I have to offer you, Lex?" She asked, smirking softly as she undid his pants, hesitating before pushing them down, "other than being your lab rat, of course."

"There is that," he said with a soft smile as he watched her. "You also offer me leverage. Revenge. You hold all their secrets. It must be driving them crazy knowing you're here with me so... _willingly_." He stroked her hair. "And you're not nearly as meek as Lana. I enjoy a challenge." He trailed his fingers lightly over her collarbone, caressing the spot where the GPS had been implanted. "Now, get down on your knees, Darling."

"I have to warn you," she smirked softly, shifting and moving to kneel on the floor, "I might bite."

He smiled down at her. "If you do, guess what the morning headline of the Daily Planet will be, Chloe?"

"What is that, Lex?" She asked, pulling his boxers down, doing her best to not think about anything or her stomach would start turning again.

Lex leaned back on his desk a little more so the camera planted in the bookcase could have a nice, clear view. "Let's just say it will involve your favorite farm boy with super-human abilities...and a particular allergy that's rather unhealthy for him."

Chloe looked over his body for a moment, completely blocking out his comment about Clark and took Lex in her hand, "at least now I know why you're so bitter," she smirked up at him, "even Jimmy Olsen is bigger than you," what was another lie? At least that one, she enjoyed telling.

His smile widened. "Oh, Chloe. It's not size that matters, it's how you use it. I intend to use it a lot in the next few months and years." He fingered her hair, stroking the back of her head. "Now why don't you put that mouth of yours to better use? And don't forget to smile for Oliver."

"You sick bastard," she told him with a smile before leaning in and taking a deep breath and taking him in her mouth, her stomach turning immediately. It was going to be harder to block everything out than she was hoping. Especially when she had to actually do something than if she just had to lay there, which she was sure he knew and that was exactly why he was making her go down on him instead. She just hoped that _if_ anyone was watching, they had stopped watching by now.

Lex tangled his fingers in her hair, tugging her closer and forcing himself deeper into her mouth as he looked down and met her eyes, smiling as though he adored her. "I'm not surprised you're better at this than Lana. Although I am surprised it didn't make you more popular with the guys in school. Perhaps if you'd done this for Clark he would have taken more interest in you." He paused, thrusting into her mouth and gritting his teeth momentarily. "Although he's always been a little too pure for someone like you. He and Lana deserve each other. Such sweet, innocent people. They're not like you and me. They're not _tainted_."

Chloe had to still for a second to stop herself from gagging, taking a breath through her nose and holding on to his legs firmly as she started moving her mouth over him again. She considered his words for a moment hollowing the inside of her cheeks as she added more pressure, sucking him harder into her mouth. Not because she wanted to make him feel good, but because she wanted this to be over with.

He groaned, closing his eyes as his fingers tightened in her hair. "Fuck," he uttered, thrusting farther into her mouth until his entire length was buried inside her throat. He forced her head closer, feeling her nose brush against his base.

Her nails dug into his legs as she tried to pull back, doing her best to control her gag reflex, but she couldn't do it for much longer so she reached between his legs and cupped his balls, squeezing them lightly and hoping that would be enough to finish him off.

Lex thrust into her throat once more, groaning loudly and shuddering as his climax hit without warning. "Swallow," he ordered breathlessly.

She had no choice, he was so far inside her mouth, all she could do was swallow, gasping and coughing as she pulled away from him.

"Don't forget to smile," he said sweetly, reaching down to help her up. "Wouldn't want Oliver to think you didn't enjoy that as much as I did."

Chloe cleared her throat, trying hard not to be sick and forcing herself to smile, "are we done with your little show?"

Lex smiled, leaning in and kissing her, then kissing her forehead tenderly as he cupped her cheek. "Well done. Would you like me to reciprocate?" His smile widened a little.

"Do you want me to throw up all over you?" Her own smile widened as she placed a hand over his chest.

He chuckled softly and kissed her again. "Get dressed."

She reached down and picked up her underwear, sliding it on quickly then going for her bra, she had to get to the bathroom soon, she wanted a shower and she wanted to get rid of everything that had anything to do with him. She had never forced herself to be sick before, but she had the feeling it wouldn't be too hard to get it to work.

Lex reached out and stroked a hand down her back. "Save me some hot water, Dear."

Chloe zipped up the skirt and smiled, "I wouldn't count on it, darling." She told him before picking up her shirt and sliding it on too even as she made her way to the door.

He simply laughed.


	10. A Fine Line

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things aren't always what they seem.

Authors: [](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/profile)[**chloeas**](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/) and [](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/profile)[**dl_greenarrow**](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/)  
Title: A Fine Line  
Rating: Very strong NC-17  
Summary: Things aren't always what they seem.  
Warnings: This fic has a lot of Chlex in it, and it is about Chlollie but there is a lot of Chlex. It's dark, full of mature, violent, adult situations and could be triggering, this is your warning. It takes place during season six.

[Prologue](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/888487.html) \-- [Two](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/890925.html) \-- [Three](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/894470.html) \-- [Four](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/896305.html) \-- [Five](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/900742.html) \-- [Six](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/902437.html) \-- [Seven](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/905366.html) \-- [Eight](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/909819.html) \-- [Nine](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/912327.html)

Oliver didn't want to watch.

Watching the short clip that he'd already seen made him feel nauseous.

When he'd had Bart install cameras at the mansion, he hadn't counted on the possibility of seeing any kind of sex between Chloe and Lex. But that's what he'd found on the latest surveillance video.

There was no sound, but the way the two of them looked at each other, the smiles, the apparent gentle affection...

Oliver began to doubt she was there involuntarily after all, and he hated it. He hated it because it still _didn't make any sense._ Frustrated and angry, he shut the video off, unable to watch the rest of it. He gripped the pen in his hand tightly, then dropped it onto his desk before standing up. He blew out a breath as he began to pace the floor.

There was a piece missing from the puzzle.

He just had to find it.

* * *

It had been over three months since she had moved into the mansion and other than Lex's employees and the occasional visitor, they hadn't been seen in public together before. Until tonight.

Smallville General was having a fundraiser in Metropolis to expand the Cancer wing and Lex Luthor had been invited and naturally, he expected his _fiancee_ to go with him. At least this time, Chloe was wearing a decent dress. It was more than decent, it would have been beautiful had it not come from Lex. It was a deep purple dress that went all the way down to her ankles and had details in gold around the neck and around the back, which went well with the golden sandals she was wearing, since it was in the middle of the summer. Of course she hadn't picked any of it herself, or the way her hair and make up were going to look.

If he was going to dress her, at least Lex had good taste when he wasn't trying to humiliate her. He had also given her an engagement ring and she was sure that, to his pleasure, she felt sick every time she looked at it. Like the dress, it would have been beautiful had it not come from him, what made it particularly bad was that the words on the inside of the ring were 'Forever Mine. LL'.

But she couldn't allow herself to focus on that, they were in the limo and about to arrive at the place of the event in a couple of minutes and she had to be perfect. He had warned her about all the things that he just might do if she was anything but and she didn't want to give him the pleasure of being able to do any of those things.

So with a deep breath, she sat up, adjusting her posture but keeping her eyes outside the window, the less time she had to look at his face, the better.

"We won't have to stay too long," Lex assured her, resting a hand on her knee, gently rubbing his thumb back and forth over the material of her dress. "But it would be frowned upon if I didn't at least put in an appearance."

"Don't leave early on my account," she told him with a smile, "I'm sure I can handle it." Better than being alone with him, even if he hadn't really been physical with her since that night at the study, they were supposed to stay in a hotel in Metropolis overnight and at least at the mansion she had the comfort of knowing her mom was just a few doors down.

"I have no doubt, Darling." He leaned over and kissed her temple. When the car pulled to a stop he waited until the driver got out and moved around to open the door for Chloe. Once she climbed out of the car, he did the same, wrapping his arm around her waist and smiling at all of the cameras flashing around them.

Chloe had her best smile on as they posed for pictures, holding on to her purse with both hands instead of holding on to him. It took them a moment, but they finally made their way inside the building and she was glad at least that part was over. Although she wasn't looking forward to seeing those pictures all over the front pages the following day.

"Have I told you tonight that you look very beautiful?" he asked with a smile, leading her farther into the main room where the party was being held.

"Can never hear that enough," she smiled, raising her eyebrows a little at him, "thank you, Lex," she sounded so sincere, even to herself, it almost scared her.

Lex smiled, pleased with the nearly-perfected sincerity in her voice. "You're welcome, Chloe." He kissed her temple, smiling as another camera captured the moment. "I do believe we're a hit with the media. Not that I'm surprised, of course."

"Of course," she lowered her voice, "even though I'm no Lana Lang, I guess I'm interesting enough," she did the best she could to sound teasing, even wrinkling her nose slightly as she smiled.

He chuckled softly. "You're right. You're no Lana Lang." He rubbed her back, leading her to a table.

"I can't tell you how relieved I am to hear that," she told him with a soft grin, sitting down on one of the chairs as he pulled it out for her.

He smirked as he scooted her chair in and then sat down beside her. "Did you follow my instructions when you were dressing?" he murmured, his mouth near her ear.

Chloe smiled just a little brighter to hide the fact that her jaw was tightening, "of course, Lex."

"Excellent," he said, resting a hand between her shoulder blades, against her bare skin where the dress dipped in the back. "Would have hated to had to punish you for disobedience." He smiled at her and took a drink of champagne as a waiter brought a glass by. He'd known about this event for weeks now, and had taken precautions. He had taken special care not to grab her or handle her too roughly, and had even delayed the laboratory testing until after the night was over, so that nothing seemed out of place.

She placed a hand over his knee and shook her head, "don't worry, I have no plans to give you that kind of satisfaction."

"On the contrary. You give me a great deal of satisfaction, Chloe. And I'm sure in the coming weeks, things will only get more satisfying for me." He covered her hand with his own.

"Please," she smiled, turning her hand in his and holding it as she leaned closer, pressing a soft kiss to his cheek and whispering, "you clearly have no interest in my body," she bit down on her bottom lip, still smiling as she pulled back enough to look at him, cocking her head, "who do you think about, Lex? Is it Clark?"

He chuckled. "I have plenty of interest in your body, Chloe. Clearly I'll have to pay a great deal more attention to it to keep you from feeling _neglected_. I know you have needs, too." He rested a hand on her upper thigh beneath the table.

Chloe sat up instantly and grinned at him, shaking her head, "I take care of my needs, you shouldn't worry about about them."

"Oh, Darling. That's what husbands to be are for." He smiled sweetly, kissing her mouth lightly.

"Fiance," she corrected him, reaching to cup his cheek and kissing him again.

"Soon enough I'll be yours, til death do us part." He smiled, reaching up and cupping the back of her neck, slowly deepening the kiss.

She brushed her thumb over his cheek as she kissed him. At least she had been prepared for this and as long as they were in public, it was easier to lie and to pretend, she knew he wouldn't do anything against her then and there. Or against anyone else.

* * *

Across the room, Oliver had just downed his second glass of champagne, his jaw tightening at the sickening display. Hate for Lex surged through him and if he'd had only thought to bring his bow, the man would've had an arrow sticking out the other side of his face. Grabbing a third glass, he slowly made his way across the room, intending to somehow get Chloe's attention without actually interrupting.

* * *

Lex pulled away from her a moment later. "Would you like something to drink? Sparkling cider?" he teased.

Chloe laughed quietly and shook her head, "oh honey, don't you know that you'll be responsible for me soon enough? I can drink even though I'm underage as long as my husband allows me." Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Oliver watching them like a hawk, and was proud of herself for managing to maintain her expression, she leaned in and kissed Lex softly, she had to try and talk to Oliver before Lex noticed him, "I do need to run to the ladies' for a moment."

"Of course, Dear." He kissed her once more, then allowed her to pull away from him.

She smiled at him before standing up, glad to see the man she recognized as the director of the hospital approaching their table almost instantly. Good, it should keep Lex busy at least and if he didn't know Oliver was there, he wouldn't suspect anything. Chloe looked around for a second, trying to find Oliver as she made her way to the bathroom.

As soon as she stepped inside, the door was pushed open behind her. Oliver slipped inside and shut the door, fixing her with a stare without a word.

Her eyes widened for a second as she looked at Oliver. He was angry. Good. That meant he believed the little show she had just put with Lex. Collecting herself, her expression became neutral after a second and she stared at him, "what do you want?"

"I wanna know what the hell is going on," he whispered.

"He knows everything," she whispered back, "about you, about what kryptonite does to Clark, about the cameras, about the missions and who was behind them." She said simply, "so I suggest you stay far away from him and far away from _me_ , because he doesn't need anymore reasons to kill you."

He froze, staring at her. "What?" His voice was almost inaudible, his face paling.

She just stared back at him, "you're in danger, all of you, he's watching, waiting for the right time to attack you." Chloe paused, "and he doesn't make mistakes."

Oliver stood silent for a long moment. "This time he did." His eyes narrowed, hands curling into fists at his sides.

"No," she placed a hand against his chest and her jaw tightened, "you're not doing anything about this, especially not here and not now. Don't be _stupid_ about this, Oliver."

"Chloe." He reached up and touched her cheek. "I'm gonna get you out of this. I swear to God. He's gonna pay."

She stilled at his touch, her eyes widening again, apparently her body forgot all of what she had been forcing upon it for the past few months, all the careful expressions and control just flew out the window, "this isn't your problem, Oliver, I'm not your responsibility."

"The hell you're not," he whispered fiercely. He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "You're in this situation because of us, all of us. Because he's been _blackmailing_ you. I knew something was wrong. I knew it." He swallowed hard.

Chloe pursed her lips together, her hand unconsciously holding on to his jacket. He didn't believe she had actually turned her back on them, after she ran into him at the hospital, she was sure he had, with the way he just left when she told him to. She didn't believe he would actually have watched her with Lex, but when she looked closely at one of the cameras and recognized it as the ones Oliver used, she couldn't help but wonder if he hadn't bugged the mansion to find out if she was leaking information to Lex. She looked down and shook her head, "it's not because of you, I got myself into this."

"No, you didn't," he said, shaking his head. "You're part of my team. I should have figured this out sooner." He moved away from her, beginning to pace the length of the bathroom floor.

"Oliver," she shook her head, "he'll expose you and Clark, he will kill Lois, my dad and he has my mom, you _can't_ get involved in this, you need to pull back and you need to protect the boys, I can handle the rest."

"If you're seriously suggesting I just _leave_ you alone to deal with Lex, you're out of your goddamn mind," he whispered, turning to face her. "It's not gonna happen."

"There is too much at risk," she said firmly, stepping forward and staring at him, "you can't just jump in and expect things to go right, you don't know what's going on and he has every single detail covered, it _won't_ work and someone will die."

"Yeah, you're right about that," he said harshly.

"I mean it, Oliver, stay away." She said sharply, wondering if she really meant it, "if I figure out a way out and I think you can help me, I will contact you."

"There is a way to end this, Chloe. He dies and the problem is solved. You're free, none of us get exposed." His gaze was intense.

"You think you can just show up and kill him? He'll be ready for you, Oliver. He's ready for everything." She held his gaze, if Oliver tried to kill Lex, no matter how fast he could move, he would hesitate and he would die.

He stared at her for a moment. "Then I'll just have to catch him when he's _not_ expecting me."

"And how do you _think_ you will know when that is?"

"Do you trust me?"

Her jaw tightened and she stared at him for a full moment then nodded. She was scared, but how could she not trust him when he trusted her despite everything?

"I'll get him," he whispered. He touched her face again, searching her eyes. "I'll get him, Chloe."

She lifted her hand to cup his, "be careful, Oliver, he knows so much, he's probably watching all of you."

Oliver leaned his head against hers. "I'll be careful. Don't give up. I'll get you out of this."

Chloe swallowed hard and closed her eyes, squeezing his hand before opening her eyes again and looking at him, "I need to get back."

"I could have you out of here before he even knows you're gone," he whispered urgently. "It could end tonight."

"He has my mom," she whispered back, shaking her head, "he would have someone after Lois and my dad in minutes, your picture and Clark's picture would be in the front page of the Planet tomorrow." She paused. "And he would find me."

Oliver shut his eyes and he hesitated a moment, then wrapped his arms around her tightly.

Chloe stilled for a moment and held him back just as tightly, closing her eyes and holding on to him for a long moment before pulling back, "I have to go."

"Be careful," he whispered.

"You too," she said quietly, watching him for a second before reaching for the door then stopping, turning to look at him quickly, "don't let him see you or he will know we talked."

He shut his eyes at her words, nodding imperceptibly. "Chloe."

"Yeah?" She swallowed hard, watching him.

"I'm so sorry." He turned to look at her, guilt clear in his expression.

"Don't," she said firmly, "I did this, you don't know half of the story," she said just as guiltily, holding his gaze for a second longer before taking a deep breath and opening the door, her expression perfectly blank as she stepped outside.

He swallowed hard, watching her go and feeling his gut tighten painfully. He needed a plan. And he needed one now.


	11. A Fine Line

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things aren't always what they seem.

Authors: [](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/profile)[**chloeas**](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/) and [](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/)**dl_greenarrow**  
Title: A Fine Line  
Rating: Very strong NC-17  
Summary: Things aren't always what they seem.  
Warnings: This fic has a lot of Chlex in it, and it is about Chlollie but there is a lot of Chlex. It's dark, full of mature, violent, adult situations and could be triggering, this is your warning. It takes place during season six.

**This is one of the most graphic chapters in the fic, please consider our warnings before reading.**

[Prologue](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/888487.html) \-- [Two](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/890925.html) \-- [Three](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/894470.html) \-- [Four](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/896305.html) \-- [Five](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/900742.html) \-- [Six](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/902437.html) \-- [Seven](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/905366.html) \-- [Eight](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/909819.html) \-- [Nine](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/912327.html) \-- [Ten](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/915161.html)

Chloe had been allowing herself to feel almost hopeful after her conversation with Oliver. She was still afraid he was going to act without giving it enough thought and something was going to go wrong. The rest of the event had gone well, but on the ride back to the hotel, she started getting worried. Lex had been quiet, much quieter than normal and although he hadn't done anything to let her know he knew she had spoken with Oliver, she couldn't help but wonder if that was the case.

But she wasn't about to let him see she was nervous, she leaned back against the elevator wall as they went up to their room as relaxed as she could possibly make herself seem, "I'm glad we're back, these shoes look amazing, but I couldn't stand them much longer," she was perfectly comfortable in the shoes, of course, she wasn't about to give him a way to torture her, but she wanted to get a feeling of what he was thinking.

"They do look lovely on you," he said simply, offering her a smile as the doors slid open a moment later. "I have a surprise for you."

Surprises were never good, not when it came to Lex, she smiled back at him and nodded, walking out of the elevator with him and down the hall. He had to know.

He paused in the hallway, gently gripping onto her wrist. "Do you hear that?" he asked softly, listening to the silence.

She paused too, looking around as she listened, "I don't hear anything."

Lex smiled. "I rented the entire floor for the evening. Just for you."

No, definitely not good at all, she held her breath but smiled a little more, "you didn't have to do that. We can always have our privacy at the mansion."

"Well, we're never entirely _alone_ at the mansion, Chloe. There's always other people milling about. We've never really been completely...uninhibited there," he said with an easy smile, looping his arm around her waist. "The good news is I took tomorrow off work, and we've got the next three days here."

"We do?" Her heart started beating faster against her chest, "I didn't bring anything."

Lex chuckled softly. "You won't need anything, Chloe."

"What are you planning?" She raised her eyebrows, cocking her head and doing her best to keep her expression one of curiosity.

He smiled and pulled out the key to the penthouse suite, unlocking it and opening it, ushering her inside. "Just plenty of quality time with my fiancee." He followed her in and shut the door, locking all of the various locks, including one that was done with a keycode.

Chloe's stomach clenched as she watched him locking the door, "concerned about security?"

"Just don't want any unexpected interruptions," he said coolly, turning to face her.

"And what would they be interrupting?" She stilled, watching him closely.

Lex smiled at her. "Why don't you go take a nice, hot relaxing bath, Chloe?" he suggested.

She watched him for a moment then nodded, sliding off of her shoes and starting to the bathroom.

"Leave the door open."

Chloe took a deep breath then walked into the bathroom, quickly looking around for any kind of electronic equipment he could try to throw into the bathtub and kill her with. He knew, she knew he knew, but she wasn't going to make this easy. Chloe took off her dress and started the water, instead of a bath, she would take a shower. It was safer that way.

Lex heard the sound of the shower running and he couldn't help but smirk at her small act of defiance. He poured himself a glass of whiskey and sipped it slowly, sitting down in the leather armchair by the bed. Of course he knew she had spoken with Oliver. He'd had her watched any time they'd gone into public together, no matter how briefly. Whether it be dinner or shopping, and now at the fundraising event. He'd known Oliver would make an appearance. The other man was just so _predictable_. It was pathetic. But no one, _no_ made a fool of Lex Luthor and got by with it. They would both pay in their own ways.

After a long time, she got out of the shower, her skin red from the water that was way hotter than she was used to, at least, she felt numb from it. She had expected Lex to come in after her, but when he didn't, she figured it was better not to give him a chance. She dried herself and picked up one of the robes that were hanging in the bathroom, grateful for them otherwise she wouldn't have anything to wear, and stepped out into the room.

He looked up at her for a long moment, watching her over the rim of his whiskey glass. "You can take off the robe," he said casually.

"I didn't bring anything else."

"Like I said, you won't be needing anything." He raised an eyebrow.

She stared at him for a moment then untied her robe, shrugging it off and placing it on the back of one of the chairs then turning around and staring at him.

Lex stared back at her, then nodded toward the bed. "Lie down."

Chloe pulled the covers back and laid down, sighing softly. This was the worst part of dealing with Lex. Not knowing what he was thinking and what was happening next.

He watched her movements and took another sip of his whiskey. "Now touch yourself, Chloe," he told her.

She stopped and looked over at him, raising one eyebrow, "no."

Lex raised an eyebrow in return. "No?"

"No. I don't want to." She said firmly, looking over at him.

He stared at her for a moment, then set down his glass and rose to his feet. "It's not about what _you_ want. It's never been about what _you_ want."

Chloe shrugged a shoulder, she was tired of his game, she wanted to see how far she could take this, "I'm not in the mood, I won't do it."

Lex laughed softly and without warning, he was on top of her, his hands wrapping around her throat. "You don't get to tell me no," he hissed.

She gasped, her eyes widening as she reached up, trying to pull his hands away.

He leaned his face down close to hers, tightening his hands around her neck a little more. "I own you, Chloe. Your life is mine," he whispered against her ear. "And you just made a world of more trouble for yourself."

Chloe coughed, staring at him and trying to swallow.

He let go of her throat suddenly, pressing his hands down hard against her shoulders and holding her down. "Do you understand me?"

She whimpered, closing her eyes tightly as he pushed her shoulders down, but she wasn't about to give in, "understand what?"

"I'm starting to think you enjoy pain," he whispered with amusement. "That's actually nice to know. I've always wanted to entertain a darker side of myself sexually."

"I don't enjoy anything when it comes to you." She said through clenched teeth.

"That's okay. I have a feeling I'll enjoy it enough for both of us." He released her shoulders only to grab her hips and flip her onto her stomach. He undid his belt buckle and pulled it from his pants.

Her eyes widened but all she could do was gasp, shifting and turning to look back at him.

He held the belt in his hand, a smirk on his face. "You can scream as loud as you want. I informed the hotel manager you were very vocal when it came to our...coupling time." He slammed the belt forward hard against her back.

And she did scream, her eyes tearing up immediately as her back started to burn. But she still had plenty of fight in her and she planned on using it. She moved to kneel on the bed and reached back, shoving Lex as hard as she could, hoping he would fall off of the bed.

Lex faltered for a moment, but regained his balance quickly and slapped her hard across the face. He yanked her knees out from beneath her, pressing one hand down against the back of her neck and holding her down as he brought the belt down on her back again.

This time, her cry was muffled by the pillow, she kicked her legs and tried to punch him with her arms, but she couldn't breathe, not with the way he was holding her neck.

He smiled at her attempts to fight back, enjoying the struggle she was putting up as he adjusted the belt so the buckle would dig into her skin when he brought it down upon her--this time on the backs of her thighs. "This could have been so much easier on you if you had just obeyed the first time."

Her back arched and she managed to lift her mouth away from the pillow, screaming in pain and gasping for breath, "stop!"

Lex paused, pressing a hand down between her shoulder blades. "Are you going to do as your told this time?"

"Yes," she gasped breathlessly as her face fell back down on the pillow.

A short chuckle escaped him. "Only three. Here I thought it would take a lot more to break Chloe Sullivan. All right. Roll over."

Chloe gasped, her back and legs burning and she winced as they touched the mattress. She just hoped Oliver acted fast, or she would have to find a way to kill Lex herself.

Lex smirked down at her. "Now touch yourself," he ordered, holding the belt up.

She didn't even hide the disgust she felt for him as she stared at him for a long moment before taking a deep breath and closing her eyes as she slid her hands over her breasts, rubbing them slowly.

"Keep your eyes open," he barked. "You don't get to fantasize here." He narrowed his eyes at her.

Her jaw tightened but she opened her eyes, glaring at him and keeping her hands on her breasts as she tried to think of a way out of there.

He smirked at her, undoing his pants and letting them slide to the floor before pushing his boxers down, as well. "Come on, Chloe. Not too many men have been willing to touch you. Like you said, you know how to take care of your own needs. You can do better than this."

She stared over at him and slid a hand over her stomach and between her legs, a slow smirk appearing on her lips as she bent her knees up slightly and pictured wrapping that belt around his neck.

Lex watched her, shifting so he was standing at the end of the bed, pumping his hand over his hardness slowly.

She was brought back to reality as she realized what he was doing, she was completely disgusted by him already, but now, even more so. But she forced herself not to look away or close her eyes. Shifting her fingers, she forced a gasp as she rubbed them against her clit. Once more, she wanted to get it over with fast.

He smiled darkly at the gasp, moving to stand at the side of the bed as he continued to watch her. "Make yourself cum, Chloe."

Easier said than done when she had to stare at him, but she knew her body well, and she knew how to at least get close enough to be able to fake it. So she dropped her legs, crossing them as her ankles and rubbing her fingers faster, not even noticing that her eyes closed as she moved her hips against her hand.

The belt whistled through the air and came down hard on her stomach the moment her eyes slipped shut.

Chloe gasped loudly, crying out and sitting up in pain as the belt connected with her skin.

"I told you not to close your eyes," he said harshly. "Now lay back down."

She covered her stomach, sobbing quietly as she laid back down, she was just managing to get away from him, but he brought her back.

Lex moved so he was sitting on top of her, on her chest, glaring down at her. "You're _pathetic_ ," he whispered. "Weak and pitiful. Now get yourself off before I get really pissed, Chloe." He began to pump his hand over his cock again, faster this time.

She tried to reach around his legs, but her arms weren't long enough, but mostly, she didn't like having his cock so close to her face, "I can't reach myself."

Studying her for a moment, he slid his free hand behind him and thrust a finger inside her none-too-gently. "Then I guess I'll have to get us both off, won't I?"

She gasped again, shifting under him, her breasts hurting from his weight and all she really wanted was to at least be able to close her eyes and pretend she was somewhere else entirely.

Enjoying the gasp that he knew had little to do with any kind of pleasure, he shifted his weight slightly so it was more on her stomach than her chest--right where he'd struck her. He slid a second finger inside her, smirking. "Been awhile, hasn't it?" he asked casually. Without waiting for a response, he removed both his fingers from inside her and began to rub her clit hard, rolling it between his thumb and his index finger.

This time, she groaned, blinking then opening her eyes wide so they wouldn't close like she wanted them to. She hated her body for responding to his rough touches even as the skin on her stomach burned. But she refused to have an orgasm with him, so she would fake one in hopes he would leave her alone. Her hips were thrusting against his hand and she forced a moan, proud of herself when she knew it sounded like she normally did.

Lex smirked, sliding a finger inside her again. "Someone's faking," he said knowingly. He pressed his thumb down agaisnt her clit, rubbing it in small, almost tender circles this time. Watching her intently, he rubbed her a little faster even as his other hand went back to jerking himself off. "The sooner you actually cum, the sooner this is over, Chloe."

Chloe couldn't help the very real shudder that his touch caused her and she wanted to scream because she felt like her body was betraying her, but Lex knew what he was doing, obviously. She had to force herself to relax, but she couldn't seem to as long as she had to stare at him.

He could feel she was getting close. All he had to do was push her just a little farther and he'd have gotten what he wanted from her. For now. He pulled his finger from her once more and gripped the sensitive nub tightly, tugging on it, fully aware that the alternation between tenderness and painfulness was jolting.

She gasped loudly at the sensation and pressed her feet against the bed and her head against the pillow. It _had_ been a long time, a long time since even she touched herself, so the stimulation was enough to send her over the edge. It wasn't a strong, mind-blowing orgasm, but it was one. And she hated herself and her body for it.

Lex smiled in satisfaction and within moments, he had reached his own climax, letting his semen spray over her chest and neck. "That's better."

Chloe felt completely disgusting before he came all over her, now she couldn't stand herself, she shifted under him, her jaw tight. She needed another shower.

He moved off of her, smirking as he picked up the belt once more and struck her hard on the stomach again without any warning.

She screamed and bent over in pain, closing her eyes tightly and wrapping her arms around her stomach.

Lex leaned down behind her, his mouth against her ear. "That was for going behind my back and talking to Oliver Queen," he whispered. "I trust it won't happen again."

Chloe shook her head as well as she could, shifting to push herself off of the bed. She wouldn't need to talk to Oliver again. He was coming for her, she trusted him. She needed to trust him.

"Good. I'm going to go take a shower. And in case you have any thoughts of killing me in my sleep or jumping out the window, you should know that if I don't check in with someone by 8 a.m. that Clark Kent's name will be all over the papers by evening. And the Green Arrow will be dead by noon." His voice was cheerful as he headed away from her and toward the bathroom.

Chloe closed her eyes tightly and waited until the bathroom door was closed before standing up, her stomach was still burning, but she picked up the shirt he had taken off earlier and a water bottle from the mini-fridge and washed her neck and chest, wiping it with his shirt until she was clean enough then using the ice cold water against her stomach.

She would have to shower in the morning. She didn't want to look at him anymore.

So she walked over to the bottle of whiskey he had left on the table and drank as much as she could without taking a breath, the liquid burned her insides as she swallowed it, but she needed something to help her pass out, at least if he tried anything else, she wouldn't feel it.


	12. A Fine Line

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things aren't always what they seem.

Authors: [](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/profile)[**chloeas**](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/) and [](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/)**dl_greenarrow**  
Title: A Fine Line  
Rating: Very strong NC-17  
Summary: Things aren't always what they seem.  
Warnings: This fic has a lot of Chlex in it, and it is about Chlollie but there is a lot of Chlex. It's dark, full of mature, violent, adult situations and could be triggering, this is your warning. It takes place during season six.

Lex and Chloe hadn't returned to the mansion.

Oliver knew because although his cameras had disappeared weeks before, he had Bart, AC and Victor taking turns on keeping an eye on who came and went. And the 'happy' couple hadn't returned after the fundraiser the night before.

Sitting in his office at Queen Industries, Oliver's jaw was tight with anger. He had no way of knowing where they'd gone. No way of knowing if Chloe was all right. He was going to need more help.

And he wasn't looking forward to talking to Clark Kent again.

Clark Kent, the man who'd been Chloe's supposed best friend for roughly half her life, and who'd turned his back on her without a second thought and without even really checking into the validity of what he _thought_ was going on.

Grimacing, he rose to his feet, clearing his schedule for the rest of the day and telling his assistant he'd be out of touch for several hours. He headed out of the office, pulling the keys to his car from his pocket.

It was a three hour drive to Smallville, but in his car with him behind the wheel, he could easily make it in two. Maybe more if he pushed it.

And he fully intended to push it.

* * *

"Rise and shine," Lex's voice drawled. He was already awake and dressed in a pair of slacks and a clean shirt. He hadn't brought anything else for her to wear, but he certainly had for himself. He was fully aware just how much whiskey she'd drank the night before while he was showering and knew waking up this early, or at all, after consuming that amount of alcohol wouldn't be a pleasant experience for her. Good thing he didn't actually care.

Chloe stirred on the bed but made no move to get up or even open her eyes, her stomach, back and legs ached, her head was pounding and her stomach was upset. She pulled the covers tighter around herself, hoping the nightmare was over and that they were back at the mansion.

He smirked at her lack of response, tugging the covers back and off her. "Come on. It's morning. Brand new day."

She curled up further when he pulled the covers, "leave me alone," she mumbled.

"You have an appointment in an hour. I thought you might like to take a shower first."

At that, her eyes actually opened and her head pounded harder as she turned to glare at him, "appointment for what?"

Lex sighed, moving over to open the window blinds and let the sunlight pour through. "A medical appointment," he said casually.

She covered her eyes from the sun but glared at him, "you're testing on me again."

"It's been a few weeks," he told her, raising an eyebrow. "Can't risk some unknown, possibly dangerous power emerging without being aware of it."

"Don't worry, _dear_ " her jaw clenched and she stood up, "the first person I plan on using my power on if it's dangerous, is you."

He chuckled softly at the threat. "Rest assured, Chloe, if you wind up with a dangerous ability, I'll have you contained in a secure location."

"We'll see about that." She grabbed the dress she had on the previous night and walked to the bathroom, once the door was closed and locked behind her and the water was running was that she let out a deep breath and bent over. She wasn't sure if it was from him hitting her or the alcohol or both, but her stomach felt like it was burning inside and out and she knew the testing would only make it worse.

Lex smirked as he watched her go. Today he would be accompanying her to the facility where his doctors and scientists would be examining and testing her. He had another reason behind going along, but there was no need to let her know that.

At least not until the time was right.

She took a bath this time, with the door safely locked behind her, she scrubbed herself as much as she could first then let the tub fill with water and laid down in it. It helped with the pain and although her stomach was still upset, it wasn't any worse than a bad hangover and that she could live with.

When fifteen minutes had passed and she hadn't come out, Lex knocked loudly on the door. "Come on. We're going to be late."

Even though he was knocking, she took her time. Carefully drying herself, but not looking at herself in the mirror at any moment, she just couldn't, she didn't want to see what she looked like. It took her almost ten minutes to get ready and finally open the door.

 

His eyes were dark and narrowed as he glared at her. "Apparently you like being punished. But we'll have to save it for later." He reached out and picked up his suit jacket, putting it on her and unlocking the different locks and the keypad using the code. "The car's waiting for us downstairs."

Chloe wrapped the jacket around herself but kept her eyes on the keypad, she was pretty sure she had gotten the code, in case she needed it later.

 

Lex wrapped his arm around her lower back, his grip intentionally tight as they walked down the hall toward the elevator together. He punched the button and smiled down at her. "Don't forget to smile, Dear."

She winced as his arm touched her back and took a deep breath, she had no make up on, her hair was still wet, she had no doubt that even if she did smile, she wouldn't be fooling anyone. But she half tried for one, even if she said nothing to him.

He guided her onto the elevator, rubbing his thumb lightly over her back through the material of her dress. "Try to relax, Chloe. It'll all be over soon."

She winced again, away from his touch and looked up at him, "not until one of us is dead."

Lex smiled softly, lifting a hand to her cheek. "It won't be me. Don't worry."

 

"You're very wrong," she said through narrowed eyes, not bothering to smile.

"Now, now." He nodded slightly toward the camera in the corner of the elevator's ceiling.

 

"We'll just let them believe you tired me out last night, I'm sure that would work on your ego."

Lex let his arm drop from around her waist and pressed her back up against the handle on the elevator's back wall. He stepped closer to her, pinning her in place with his body as he gazed down at her. "I could always hit the emergency brake, Chloe. We could be stuck in here together alone for awhile, with nothing better to do." He smiled, his fingers digging into her hips. "And we could put on one hell of a show for the security guards watching this video feed," he murmured, his mouth near her ear. He bit down on her earlobe.

Chloe straightened her back and held her breath, reaching for the collar of his shirt and pulling him to look at her, "I rather have needles all over my body."

"Soon enough, Darling." He smiled, placed a kiss against her forehead and pulled away from her.

"Can't wait," she smiled back at him, adjusting the jacket and pulling away from the elevator wall.

"Neither can I." His smile widened and he wound his arm around her waist once more.

* * *

Oliver was tense even as he climbed out of his car, approaching the front door and pausing when he saw Lana exiting, a happy, content smile on her face. It took everything he had not to be angry with her--because the anger would be irrational, misplaced. But part of him couldn't help but wish _she_ were the one who was still with Lex. Because Lex couldn't possibly hold as much over her head as he could Chloe. Lana didn't know all their secrets. Hell, he wasn't even sure she knew about _Clark's_ secret and the two of them had been back together for weeks.

That thought only served to make him angrier with Clark. Here he was, playing the happy, normal farmboy while Lex Luthor had Chloe in his clutches, doing God knows what to her. "Lana," he greeted curtly, moving past her and onto the porch as she headed for her car.

Clark had heard the car long before Oliver got to his front door, he was glad Lana was leaving and wasn't gonna be there when Oliver said what he had to say because the other man's heart was beating fast. He waited for Oliver to come inside and nodded at him, "Oliver."

 

"I need your help," he said without acknowledging the greeting. "Chloe's in trouble, and it's because of us."

Clark's eyes narrowed at the mention of her name, "what is going on?"

 

He gritted his teeth for a moment. "Lex knows, Clark. He knows everything. About you, about me, about the others. He knows we're the ones who've been blowing up his facilities, and he's holding all of it over Chloe's head. That's why she's with him."

His eyes widened at the information, "he _knows_?" His own heart was beating fast, "how do you know?"

"Because I ran into her at a charity event last night. She told me everything."

At that, he stood up straight, his expression blank, "so that's what she wants you to believe? How would Lex know everything if _she_ hadn't been the one to tell him in the first place, Oliver? And now she's trying to get us to help her, so we can walk right into a trap."

Oliver's jaw clenched. "You have to be fucking kidding me." He took a step toward Clark. "How does Lex know everything? Because he's a smart guy, Clark. And he knew exactly how to get to Chloe by dangling us as bait and threatening to reveal our secrets if she doesn't do exactly what he wants!"

"Or she's trying to _trick_ us, Oliver!" He said just as angrily, "all you have to worry about is some bad publicity but if Lex gets to me, he'll throw me in a lab and experiment on me, same with Bart, Victor and Arthur, have you thought about that?"

 

His eyes narrowed. "You didn't see her last night. She was _scared_. This isn't some elaborate game, she's not on Lex's side. If she was, don't you think that would have already happened?" he demanded. "She's been with him for three months! Open your eyes!"

"I did see pictures of her from last night," his jaw tightened and he reached over the counter for the copy of the Daily Planet, "and she looks perfectly fine to me."

 

"Because she's a good actress," he said angrily.

"She's not that good, when Lana was with him, I could tell something was wrong, but Chloe seems just fine, Oliver and you're giving her exactly what she wants."

 

He chuckled humorlessly, shaking his head. "Gee, that couldn't _possibly_ have anything to do with the fact that you actually _cared_ about Lana, could it?" he said bitterly.

"If you have proof that he's hurting her, I will help, otherwise, I'm not risking everything because she managed to manipulate you." He said through clenched teeth.

Oliver stared at him for a moment, his expression darkening. "You know what? Forget it. I'll help her with the help of _my_ team. You just go back to playing the happy couple and ignoring someone who's saved your ass more times than I can even count." He turned and headed for the door.

Clark's eyes narrowed at Oliver. He would do his own research and see if he thought Chloe really was in trouble, but if she was, she would have found a way to ask for help by now.

 

His jaw tightening, he made his way out to the car, cursing under his breath. He shoved the keys in the ignition and gunned the engine, squealing the tires as he peeled away.

* * *

Lex let his arm fall away from Chloe's waist as two of the orderlies led her toward the exam table. He glanced over at the doctor. "Are we still anticipating this to take most of the day?" he asked curiously.

"You did ask that we extend the battery of tests to the full scope this time," he said with a slight nod.

Chloe raised her head even as the two men helped her on to the bed, "what does that mean?" It was bad enough when it only took a couple of hours, but most of the day? It was still better than being in that hotel room with Lex, but she couldn't imagine how much more intrusive those tests could get.

"Don't worry, Dear. You'll be all right." He smiled softly. "Just try to lay back and...relax. Close your eyes."

She stared at him for a moment longer before letting out a breath and laying back down, being able to close her eyes was definitely a big plus of being in the lab.

 

He smirked and watched as she laid back.

Dr. Jacobson stepped forward. "Actually, Ms. Sullivan, we'll need you to undress." He glanced at Lex uncertainly, and Lex simply nodded.

Chloe opened her eyes and looked at the doctor then sat up, "give me something else to wear and I will."

"Of course." He moved toward the table, opening one of the drawers and handing her a gown. "Tie it in the front," he said quietly, turning and heading away.

She stood up again, glad she hadn't had anything to eat, or she probably wouldn't have been able to keep it down. Once it was just her and Lex in the room, she took off his jacket and the dress she was wearing, placing them on one of the chairs and wrapping the hospital gown around herself.

 

Lex watched her intently as she changed, then sat down in the chair near the exam table. "I have my staff shopping for some clothes for you for the next couple of days. They'll be in our room for later."

"I can't wait to see what they pick up," she told him, giving him a look and getting back on the bed, "when are we going back to Smallville?"

He arched an eyebrow. "So eager to go back to your castle, Princess?" His voice was teasing, but there was a hint of dangerousness beneath it. "Monday evening. I have a meeting here in Metropolis Monday morning, but I've taken the afternoon off so we can spend it together."

 

"I have to work on Monday," she said simply, laying back down and staring at the ceiling.

 

He smiled. "Your boss has given you the day off."

She glared over at him and sighed, looking back up, "I can't wait."

He smirked. "You won't have to. We have the rest of the weekend together."

 

"I'm sure I won't be up for much tonight or all day tomorrow," she narrowed her eyes, "the fever and throwing up kind of get in the way of it."

"And I'll be there to keep you company the whole time," he assured her with amusement.

Dr. Jacobson stepped back into the room. "All right, let's get started."

Chloe took a deep breath and looked over at the doctor, trying to see what he was doing.

"Just going to do a basic physical exam before we move onto the other...tests," Dr. Jacobson told her quietly, approaching her with a stethescope.

She raised her eyebrows, suspiciously, "what for?"

"Your fiancee wants to make sure you're in good health," he responded, pressing the scope to her chest and listening.

Chloe looked at the doctor for a moment then over at Lex, frowning.

He smiled at her. "It's always a good idea to make sure one is in top physical condition before trying to conceive, Chloe."

 

Her stomach clenched at the word and she stared at him, "pretty sure I'm not ready to be a mother, Lex."

Lex offered her a placating smile, but his eyes were filled with warning. "I know we haven't discussed the idea much, but I feel it's time."

She stared at him, narrowing her eyes, "I guess we have to get married first." That should at least buy her some time. If nothing else, she would find a way to stock up on morning after pills.

"Of course," he said with a slight nod. "Still. There are other things we should be doing to prepare. This exam is one of them."

"What if the baby comes out like me, Lex? What if it has abilities too?" She couldn't risk that, she would terminate whatever happened, however many times she had to, she couldn't imagine what Lex would do to that child if it had powers.

"Relax, Darling. We can discuss that later," he assured her, reaching out and smoothing the hair from her eyes.

Dr. Jacobson glanced at Lex for a moment, then at Chloe. "I'll need you to lie back."

She sighed deeply and did as the doctor asked, looking up at him as she did. Oliver had to act fast.


	13. A Fine Line

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things aren't always what they seem.

Authors: chloeas and dl_greenarrow  
Title: A Fine Line  
Rating: Very strong NC-17  
Summary: Things aren't always what they seem.  
Warnings: This fic has a lot of Chlex in it, and it is about Chlollie but there is a lot of Chlex. It's dark, full of mature, violent, adult situations and could be triggering, this is your warning. It takes place during season six.

Chloe wasn't sure how long she had been in the bathroom, but she was sure it had to have been a couple of hours. She didn't have anything else to throw up, the little food she had actually had was long gone, her throat and stomach were burning and once more, she felt disgusting. She didn't know what the hell Lex did with her during those tests; the pain was so overwhelming, she never managed to stay awake through the entire thing.

When she felt like she was finally done, she picked herself up and washed her mouth, wrapping the robe tightly around herself before making her way back into the bathroom.

 

Lex lay on the bed, reading. "Feeling better?" he asked casually, not looking up as she entered the room.

"No," she snapped weakly as she dragged herself to the bed, laying back down.

"That's too bad." There was no guilt in his voice, no regret or sorrow or even sympathy for her pain. "Would you like some ginger ale?"

"Yes," she said quietly, shifting on the bed, she had been dehydrated last time, maybe that would help.

Surprised, he glanced over at her, then set his book down, moving off the bed and over to the mini-fridge in their room. He pulled out a can of the drink, and poured some of it into a glass before moving back over to her. He handed it to her wordlessly.

She was just as surprised that he actually got up and got it for her, she took it from him silently and sipped on it slowly, wincing as it made her throat burn, but at least it didn't make her nauseated.

Lex studied her for a moment. "Maybe television will take your mind off it." He handed her the remote and picked up his book again.

 

Chloe took the remote warily, wondering what was the catch, but at least, he seemed to be done torturing her for the day, so she adjusted her pillows and sat up slightly, turning the TV on and shifting on the bed until she was comfortable. The news were on, so it couldn't be that late and she figured at least she would catch up on what was going on in the outside world.

"And in other news, billionaire philanthropist Oliver Queen was seriously injured in a car accident earlier today when he apparently lost control of the car and it flipped over twice..."

She sat up immediately, her eyes on the TV, her heart beating fast as she heard the reporter saying the car flipped on the road between Smallville and Metropolis, she had no doubt he had gone to Smallville after her.

 

"...currently in Metropolis General. Doctors have listed him in serious condition but haven't released any other details."

Lex didn't even look up, simply continued reading, turning the page.

Chloe was quiet and completely still until the story ended, and even then, it took a couple of deep breaths before she turned to look at him, her jaw tight and she was shaking, but this time, it wasn't because of the fever, "you did this."

"Of course. That's _my_ meteor ability. Being in two places at once." He didn't look at her, his tone bored.

She reached over and pulled the book from his hands, " _you_ didn't need to be there to have planned this, you sent one of your men to mess with his car, you went after him because he and I were talking yesterday."

He took the book from her and set it on the bed. " _If_ I had, he would be dead and not in the hospital, Chloe."

Her jaw tightened as she stared at him, "I wanna go see him."

"No," he said simply, picking his book up once more.

She took the book from him once more, staring at him, "the _least_ you can do is admit you did it because you were trying to teach me a lesson, because you're a sick asshole who needs to prove his point by making people suffer."

Lex's eyes narrowed and he picked the book up, this time throwing it hard across the room before leaning over her. "I would have admitted it hours ago if it were true. While you were being run through the tests. Just to make _you_ suffer a little more. Perhaps Oliver was simply drunk. He's never had a problem putting other people in danger."

Chloe stared at him for a long moment, her jaw tight then taking a deep breath. She actually believed him. Lex liked bragging about things like that and he would have been torturing her for hours if he'd known. Sighing, she looked away from him but didn't say anything else.

He continued to glare at her, reaching up and grabbing her chin in his hand, forcing her to look at him again. "In the future, it would be _wise_ not to accuse your fiancee of things without good reason."

She narrowed her eyes at him, but didn't move or say anything otherwise.

"Am I making myself perfectly clear?"

"Yes." She said through clenched teeth.

He let go of her chin. "Good."

Chloe pulled away from him and turned off the TV before finishing the ginger ale he had given her before setting the empty glass and the remote on the bedside table and turning away from him as she laid back down.

Lex glared at her a moment longer, then shifted in the bed so his chest was pressed against her back. He laid his head down on her pillow and draped his arm around her waist, pressing his hand against her stomach.

She stilled, her jaw tightening, "what do you want?"

"Are you always this suspicious?" He smirked.

 

"Only when you're around," she said tightly.

 

Lex chuckled and pulled her back against him. "Go to sleep."

Chloe shuddered but closed her eyes, doing her best to ignore the man behind her and whatever the hell it was he was planning and just focusing on trying to figure out what had happened to Oliver. If Lex hadn't done it, and she believed he hadn't, then what had happened? How bad was it? He had to be okay, he had to get out of it. Especially if this had happened because of her.

* * *

The next morning, Lex sat on the edge of the bed while Chloe slept, staring at the phone in his hand for a long moment before setting it on the nightstand once more. If what Doctor Jacobson claimed was true, his day had just gotten a lot better already. He glanced at her sleeping form for a moment, then carefully leaned over her, untying the knot in the belt of the robe and slowly pulling the material back and off her shoulders, sliding the sleeve off her arm.

Only one way to be sure. He had to see for himself.

She shifted in her sleep for a moment then suddenly felt cold, frowning, she shifted and opened her eyes, looking over her shoulder, she realized that Lex was undressing her, her eyes widened and she pulled away from him, wrapping the robe against herself again, "what are you doing?" She demanded.

"Testing a theory," he responded, tugging her back once more.

"What theory?" She asked, holding on to her robe tightly.

 

"I'll let you know once I've seen for myself whether or not it's true," He told her, grabbing onto the sleeve and yanking it backwards, off her right shoulder.

Chloe frowned but let the robe drop over to one side, looking over her shoulder and trying to see her back, glad to see she didn't feel nearly as sick as she did the last time he had tested on her.

He reached out and pulled the other sleeve off her arm, pulling it back and off, too. His eyes traveled over the length of her spine and then to her lower back. "Fascinating," he murmured, reaching out and touching her there.

She expected his touch to hurt, but when it didn't, she looked down at her stomach, her eyes widening as she realized the marks that were there just last night were almost completely gone, "what did you do to me?"

 

"Not a thing," he said with a pleased smile as endless possibilities began to form in his mind. "You did this all yourself."

She looked over at him then blinked, looking down at herself and touching her stomach. She had _healed_ herself? Was that her meteor power? To regenerate?

"Dr. Jacobson said you had an abnormal amount of white blood cell counts, which in many cases would suggest leukemia. But upon further testing, no leukemia was found," he told her, tugging her backwards a little to get a look at her neck. Sure enough, the bruises there were nearly gone, as well.

 

She pulled the robe over herself again and turned slightly to look at him, "so I'm not sick? This is my ability?"

"It appears so," he said with a nod.

Chloe blinked, looking away from him as she tried to process the information. What good was that power? To heal herself. Lex would just keep hurting her and she would keep healing, but that wouldn't make it hurt any less. She couldn't break away, she couldn't help anyone, she couldn't protect anyone.

"Fascinating," he said again, a smile tugging at his lips.

She frowned at that, looking over at him, "now what? You take my DNA and try to transfer my ability to yourself?"

"My immune system is already healthy," he told her with a smirk. "I rarely ever get ill, or injured." He watched her for a moment. "I wonder, though. How far do you think your powers extend, Chloe?"

Her jaw tightened and she shifted away from him, "how am I supposed to know? Ask your doctor."

"I'm afraid he doesn't know either." He smiled a bit more. "I guess we'll just have to work on testing your abilities, won't we?"

"Like you need an excuse to hurt me," she said sharply, staring at him.

"Well, now it will just be in the name of science, Darling. Imagine the possibilities. Your blood could end up curing cancer."

"Even if it could cure cancer, you would keep it to yourself."

"You think so little of me, Chloe. I'm hurt."

"You would need to be able to feel something to be able to get hurt, Lex," she said tightly.

"I guess I'll have to make you feel enough things for both of us then, won't I?" he responded, his eyes narrowing.

 

"No, you won't." She tried, even if she knew it would be useless, "I need to eat something."

Lex paused for a moment. "I wonder how long a person with your ability could go without eating," he murmured.

"Considering I'm hungry and I spent hours throwing up last night because of _you_ , probably not long." She snapped, shifting and getting up to get the room service menu.

"Careful, Chloe. I might decide to test _that_ theory," he said evenly, not liking her attitude.

"I'm _hungry_ , Lex, I didn't eat anything yesterday because it would mess up your tests, I need food." She said simply, looking down at the menu.

"And you can eat. But you need to drop the attitude," he informed her, taking the menu from her and picking up the phone to call room service.

She sighed, almost relieved and crossed her arms over her chest as she watched him.

Lex ordered her over-easy eggs, a glass of orange juice, a glass of milk, and some toast.

Rolling her eyes, she walked back to the bed and sat down, hardly what she would have chosen if she was ordering for herself. But it would do.

Lex glanced at her. "High protein breakfast."

"Is that supposed to be good for me?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. Not that he cared.

 

"We need to start building up your protein. It's good for the baby." He smiled a bit and rose to his feet.

"Is that what the doctor said?" She asked uninterested as she leaned back against the pillows.

"It is," He confirmed with a slight nod. "Plus I've read up on healthy pregnancies."

"And when were you planning on including me in that plan, exactly?"

"When you needed to know," he responded.

She sighed deeply and rubbed her hands against her face, "and if the kid is a freak like me, are you going to test on it too?"

"Hardly a way to talk about our future child, is it?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's how you see me, isn't it?"

Lex cocked his head to the side and studied her for a moment. "If your ability is healing, I'd say that makes you far more useful than others of your kind."

"I can heal myself, how does that make me more useful for you?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"In many ways, Chloe. If anything this turn events has only made you more valuable to me." He smiled.

Chloe's eyes narrowed at him, "you think I should be relieved?"

He arched an eyebrow. "You should be anything _but_ relieved."

At that, she cocked her head, smirking a little at him, "because you're that much less willing to let me go?"

He leaned in closer to her. "Because I have a bit of a sadistic side that I've had to keep a tight rein on. But now?" He reached out and touched her face. "Now I have someone I can experiment with, all without causing any _permanent_ damage."

Chloe swallowed hard, watching him and tightening her jaw, "just because I can heal some bruises, it doesn't I can heal anything more serious."

"I guess we'll be finding out, won't we?" He smiled.

"You know if you get me pregnant, you won't be able to do any of this," she raised an eyebrow, she felt fine talking about it because she knew she would never let it happen.

"That adds a new factor to the equation," he said, studying her thoughtfully. "I wonder if you'll be able to heal yourself while you're pregnant, or if the child will require too much of your energy to do so?"

Chloe grinned softly and cocked her head, "it's comforting, when you talk about me having your child and stare at me like I'm your perfected fifth grade science fair project."

"I'm pretty far beyond fifth grade science. You're a much more... _mature_ experiment."

She shook her head at him and looked away, out the window and sighed deeply. Her thoughts going back to Oliver, she wished she had a computer so she could hack his medical files and figure out what was really going on with him.

"We'll get started after breakfast," he informed her, rising to his feet at the knock on the door.

She glanced at him then shook her head, wondering if there was any way she could sneak out while they were still in Metropolis.

He thanked the bellhop who'd brough her food, then carried it over to her. "Eat up," he said with a smile, heading over to his suitcase in the closet.

She took the tray and sat it on her lap, picking up a toast and buttering it as she kept an eye on him, wondering what the hell he was going to do now.

Lex smiled as he pulled something from his suitcase and turned around, holding his hand up to reveal the pair of handcuffs.

Her jaw tightened as she stared at him, "sick bastard," she repeated.

"If I could trust you not to fight me, I wouldn't feel as inclined to use them on you," he informed her, even though it was a lie.

"Spare me of your lies, Lex. I know better." She said angrily.

 

"Finish your breakfast, Chloe," he said calmly.

"I'm no longer hungry."

 

"Dinner's a long time from now."

She picked up her orange juice reluctantly and drank it, "what are you going to do?"

He studied her for a moment, remaining silent.

"What? Tell me, it's not like I can stop you," she took another bite of her toast, staring at him.

"I haven't decided yet," he admitted with a slight shrug.

Chloe finished one half of a toast and sighed, leaning back against her pillows. She hated this, hated feeling so helpless, knowing he was about to hurt her and having to just sit there and wait for it.

"You really should finish your eggs," he encouraged.

"I don't like eggs over easy." She said, raising an eyebrow at him.

His jaw tightened a little. "And how do you prefer them?"

"Scrambled." She picked up another toast and took a bite of it.

"Then I'll order you some scrambled eggs," he responded, moving to pick up the phone.

"I don't want eggs." She said firmly.

Lex turned to look at her. "You said you were hungry. You can't just eat toast."

"Don't pretend you care, Lex, and one meal isn't going to change my chances of getting pregnant," she said through clenched teeth.

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Like you said, you were sick all day yesterday. You should eat something."

"What's the point? You'll make me sick and I'll throw it all up anyway." She said tightly.

His jaw tightened. "You're trying my patience, Chloe."

"You can't say I'm lying, Lex. I must have dropped ten pounds in the last three months."

"You could still stand to lose a few more," he said coldly.

 

"I don't care what you think of my body, but I have no doubt it will happen if this continues." She managed to keep her voice and expression completely blank.

Without warning, he smacked her hard across the face.

Her face was burning, but her expression didn't change, she just stared at him.

"You better start caring about what I think, Chloe," he warned, his voice low. "Because that's the only thing keeping your friends alive."

She kept her eyes on his face but didn't do anything else.

Lex stared back at her, his eyes dark with anger, his expression cold and distant.

Chloe looked back at her plate and picked up her toast again, at least she had managed to get a reaction from him.

 

He watched her intently, his jaw set. "You like pushing my buttons."

"I thought you liked a challenge, Lex," she said calmly, not looking up, "I'm not Lana, remember?"

"I do like a challenge. I just never expected that you had a masochistic side. Although I should have realized. All those years pining after Clark when you knew he had no interest in you." He smirked. "It makes sense come to think of it."

"A high school crush is hardly masochism," she looked up at him this time, "how do you explain _your_ sick and twisted obsession with him?"

He chuckled. "Well, when someone saves your life in a way that shouldn't have been possible, it does tend to peak my interest."

"That was part of my fascination with him as well, of course, for a fifteen year old girl, when a boy saves your life repeatedly, it's impossible not to develop a crush," she said evenly, "clearly, you can't judge me for having feelings for him for so long."

"Still. You tried awfully hard to hang onto him, didn't you?" He watched her carefully.

"I was young and stupid, it happens to all of us," she smiled at him and raised her eyebrows.

Lex shrugged a little. "I suppose."

"But don't worry, I've moved on and I'm sure I would kill Clark if I had to be in any kind of relationship with him."

He smirked. "Moved on to Oliver Queen. Quite a step down if you ask me."

Chloe grinned and cocked her head, "is that what you think?"

"About which part?"

"I moved on to Oliver?"

 

"It was pretty clear in the restaurant a few weeks ago. It was that same love-sick look you used to get around Clark."

"I admire him, Lex. Mostly for going after you. There's a difference," she told him, raising an eyebrow a little.

Lex arched an eyebrow back at her. "Maybe I should just kill him."

 

"Is he really that much a threat to you?"

 

"He's cost me a great deal of time, money and research. Plus he's just a _prick_."

"You're still stuck in that school rivalry you two had going? That's just _sad_ , Lex..." she pursed her lips, pretending to stop herself from smiling.

"Some things never change," he said harshly. "And some people never do, either."

"What exactly happened at Excelsior anyway?" She asked curiously.

"What, you mean he hasn't told you?" He feigned surprise. "I wonder what else he leaves out when you talk to him."

"Actually, Oliver and I only spoke about five times, so, no, I don't know his deepest, darkest secrets," she said easily.

"Just his biggest one," he responded evenly.

"Like I said, I figured that one out on my own." Chloe reminded him with a smile.

"Like you did with Clark." He smirked. "Guess no one really trusts you enough to tell you anything."

"Apparently we have that much in common."

"The ironic part is, if Clark had just trusted me to begin with, I'd be a competely different person now. You wouldn't be here with me, either."

"What makes you think that?"

 

"Because I don't like being lied to. Especially not from someone I actually care about. If I'd known the truth from the beginning, I would've done everything I could to make sure Clark stayed safe." His voice was bitter.

Chloe paused and watched him for a moment, she had the feeling not many people got to actually hear things like that from Lex and she was genuinely interested in the conversation, not only because it was delaying whatever he was going to do to her, but because she really wanted to know. "Do you think I liked being lied to? I was angry for a long time too, that's why I made a deal with your dad in the first place," she admitted, "but the truth is, Lex, some people just need more time and some truths need to remain a secret for a good reason."

She stopped for a moment and shrugged, "I honestly think Clark would have told you if it hadn't been for Mr. Kent."

"Well, it's too late for that now. And instead of him telling me, I found out after everyone else, including my _father_. If you don't have trust, then all that's left is respect and fear. And obedience."

Sighing softly, she shook her head, "you could have trust, if you didn't strike fear. _I_ used to trust you, I trusted you with mine and my father's life. But I guess all that mattered was Clark's trust."

Lex stared at her for a moment, his jaw tightening a little. Then wordlessly he headed for the door.

Chloe blinked, raising her eyebrows and staring at him in surprise, but didn't say a word.

"Get some rest," he said without looking back, entering the passcode and undoing the locks and leaving her alone in the room.

Her eyes widened and all she managed to do was stare at the door. She couldn't believe that had actually happened. Not only had she and Lex had a conversation, but he had left her alone? She took a deep breath and leaned back against the pillows, rubbing her hands over face in relief.


	14. A Fine Line

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things aren't always what they seem.

Authors: chloeas and dl_greenarrow  
Title: A Fine Line  
Rating: Very strong NC-17  
Summary: Things aren't always what they seem.  
Warnings: This fic has a lot of Chlex in it, and it is about Chlollie but there is a lot of Chlex. It's dark, full of mature, violent, adult situations and could be triggering, this is your warning. It takes place during season six.

Yeah. This chapter? Is extremely dark. One of the worst. *runs away*

When Lex returned, it was much later in the day, and he was carrying a paper bag. He paused just inside the door, a little surprised to see her laying curled up on the bed, watching television. He saw her tense as soon as she realized he'd come back, and that gave him pause, also. A few hours ago, seeing her tense or flinch when he arrived would have pleased him. Would have meant he was just a little bit closer to breaking her. Now it just made him frown, which only served to confuse him. "How are you feeling?" he asked, locking the door behind him.

Chloe watched him for a full moment before shifting, she had no idea what to expect from him when he got back, he looked almost confused, but not angry because she had, somehow, ruined his plans. She could have gotten out anytime she wanted, she tried the keypad and she had the code right, but something had changed earlier, and she wanted to know that, if she stayed, she could actually make a difference. "I'm okay." She said quietly, still trying to read him.

He was silent for a long moment, then he held up the bag for her to see, before slowly crossing the room and setting it down on the bed wordlessly.  
She frowned a little and took the bag, sitting up and opening it, frowning more when she realized there were two things inside: a food container, which she opened carefully and was surprised to see spaghetti and meatballs, she set it down on the bedside table then pulled out the second item, which was a set of silk blue pajamas. Chloe paused for a second and looked up at him, she didn't want to thank him, but if she was going to try her new strategy, she had to, "thank you," she said quietly, looking at him for a moment before standing up and changing into the pajamas.

Lex wasn't quite sure how to respond to her words, but he actually turned his head away to give her a bit of privacy as she changed. "Do you like spaghetti?" he asked uncertainly, focusing on the TV screen.

Her back was to him as she changed, but she could see the reflex on the window and her eyes widened when she actually saw him turn away. Maybe there _was_ a way out of this after all. "Yeah, it's one of my favorites."

A faint smile touched his lips. "Good. There's garlic bread, too." He paused. "I figured you'd be hungry by now."

"I am," she admitted quietly, picking up the food and walking over to the small table in the corner of the room so she wouldn't get sauce on the bed, "did you eat?"

"Yes," he told her, keeping his eyes on the television screen.

Chloe took a deep breath and nodded slightly, she could do this, she would just have to be careful not to push her limits, so at his short answer, she didn't say anything else, just looked down at her food and started eating silently.

 

"Do you want something to drink?" he asked a moment later, glancing over at her, and then toward the mini fridge.

"I drank all the waters," she admitted quietly, looking over at him and pursing her lips together, she wanted to make sure she didn't get dehydrated this time around, even if she was feeling fine already.

 

"There's Coke and Ginger Ale," he responded.

"Maybe a Coke," she said quietly, wondering if he would actually bring it to her this time.

 

Lex fell silent, rising to his feet and moving over to the fridge, retrieving a can of soda and moving to where she sat at the table. He set it down in front of her.

Chloe looked up at him, her eyes slightly wide and nodded, "thank you," she told him again.

 

"You're welcome," he said, eyeing her uncertainly then moving away once more. "I'm going to take a shower."

"Okay," she said quietly, watching as he walked away from her, pretty sure that she was actually making him uncomfortable.

 

Rubbing a hand over the back of his neck, his disappeared into the bathroom and shut the door without looking back at her.

She sighed deeply but silently, leaning back against her chair and relaxing for a moment before going back to eating. She felt more human already. Not only because of the food, but because she was actually able to wear clothes, even if she still didn't have any underwear, this was much better than the robe she had been wearing. And she couldn't argue that it was comfortable.

A half hour later, Lex emerged from the bathroom and paused as he spotted her back in bed. "I trust the food was all right?"

"Yeah, I saw you got it from that place on 7th, I like it a lot." She said casually, looking over at him. It was hard to try and have a decent conversation with Lex, but she had to make an effort.

 

A faint smile touched his lips. "It's always been one of my favorite restaurants in Metropolis," he told her, slowly moving around to the other side of the bed. He sat down on the edge of it, his back to her.

"I used to go there all the time when I was younger," she said quietly, looking down at her lap.

He paused. "How much younger?" he asked, a hint of curiosity in his voice.

She raised an eyebrow a little, looking at his back, "before I moved to Smallville," she paused, "my dad and I lived a couple blocks away from it and since he was never a good cook we ate out a lot..."

"After your mom left," he said quietly, glancing at her over his shoulder.

Chloe nodded, pursing her lips together, "although, she never really liked the cooking thing so, we ate out a lot before that too," she smiled sadly and shrugged a shoulder.

 

Lex was silent for a moment, studying her. "My mom liked cooking. My father preferred to be served his meals by the staff."

She paused for a moment, a little surprised that he was offering the information so willingly, she had never heard Lex talking about his mother before, "did she cook a lot?"

 

"For me," he said with a slight nod. "When my father allowed it."

She nodded a little, watching him, "how old were you when she..."

"Thirteen," Lex told her, his jaw tightening a little. He rubbed a hand over his face. "You should get some sleep, Chloe."

Chloe sighed softly, she had been in bed all day, she was anything but tired, "I'm okay."

 

"I have an early meeting."

She nodded a little, "can I borrow your book?"

At that, he raised an eyebrow. "You want to read The Art of War?"

"I'm not tired, reading will keep me entertained and that way, you can sleep," she told him, watching him closely.

Lex was silent for a moment, then he retrieved the book from the nightstand, holding it out to her.

"Thanks," she told him quietly, taking the book and adjusting the pillows behind her back.

 

"I hope you find it interesting," he responded, glancing at her briefly before crawling under the blankets. He turned onto his side, facing away from her and shut his eyes.

"Goodnight, Lex," she told him for the first time in the three months they had been sleeping together.

 

"Goodnight, Chloe," he murmured.

She pursed her lips together and took a deep breath, smiling to herself. Maybe, just maybe, she could get through to him. Although she had the feeling this truce would end when he found out about what she was planning for the next morning. But she got through to him once, she could do it again.

* * *

As soon as Lex was out for his meeting, Chloe was up. She dressed quickly, having no choice but to wear the same dress she had on for the party and heels, then pressed on the code on the keypad and she was out the door. She didn't take the elevator, she found an emergency exit and took the service elevator instead, and just like she'd hoped, there were no cameras in it. To leave the hotel, she went right by the kitchen and ended up in an alley, completely ignoring the weird looks she was getting on the way.

She had to hurry, she didn't know exactly how long Lex was supposed to be gone for, but she was pretty sure that so far? No one was following her. But she had no cash on her, so she had no choice but to walk to her destination, and in those heels, it felt like it was a lot more than three blocks away. But she made it, feeling a little relieved once she was inside the hospital.

Metropolis General. Now she had to find a way to make it into Oliver's room.

Chloe knew he would be in the most expensive area of the hospital, and although she knew that was on the seventh floor, some channels said he was still in the ICU, some said he was out as there was no official press release yet. She looked around for a moment, considering her options, and then she saw her picture on the cover of the Planet, Lex's arm around her. A soft smirk on her face and she picked up the copy from the waiting room before making her way to the nurse's station.

Even though she didn't like having to scare the poor nurse into letting her through, it had worked. Less than two minutes later and she was being led down a hallway, door after door and finally, "here he is, Ms. Sullivan" the woman told her, "I will have to ask you to limit your visit to thirty minutes, Mr. Queen's conditions are still not stabilized."

With a deep breath, Chloe nodded, "thank you for your help," she said dismissively. This whole thing with Lex had actually turned out to be beneficial for once.

Slowly, she stepped inside the room and once she heard the door being closed behind her, her face fell. He looked awful. Machines hooked up to him everywhere, his legs were both on casts, his neck was in a brace and there were cuts and bruises in every inch of what she could see of his skin, "God, Ollie..." she whispered quietly, stepping closer and brushing hair from his face, "what did you do to yourself?" She whispered.

The monitor tracking his heart rate sped up a little as she touched him. He winced in his unconscious state, but otherwise remained still.

Chloe glanced over at the monitor and raised her eyebrows a little then looked over at him, moving her hand to hold his, "you have to get better soon, okay? And then we need to talk, I'm not sure how, but I will find you."

Oliver's heart monitor sped up again, then slowed to normal once more, his eyebrows furrowing a little.

"Shh," she told him, squeezing his hand, her hand was getting oddly warm under his but she figured it was just her body cooling down after running there, "I'm okay, I promise. I think..." she hesitated, "I think I figured out a way to get to him, managed to get him to calm down."

He murmured something that sounded suspiciously like her name, turning his head toward her slightly.

Pursing her lips together, she stilled for a moment and watched him, her eyes tearing up a little and without thinking, she leaned closer and pressed a kiss to his temple, "yeah, it's me," she whispered quietly.

His fingers flexed around hers a little. "Safe?" he murmured drowsily.

"If I'm safe?" She asked quietly, squeezing his hand lightly and watching him closely, "it's getting there."

Oliver swallowed hard, struggling to speak, or even to open his eyes. "Chloe..."

She sighed softly and shook her head, pressing a finger to his lips, "don't, Ollie, you need to rest and get better, I'm okay."

He let out a shaky breath, relaxing against his pillows once more. "Careful."

"I am," she told him quietly, "I'm careful, but you need to be too, you need to take care of yourself."

His fingers tightened around hers just a little. "Don't...trust...Lex."

Chloe swallowed hard and her hand tightened slightly around his, shaking her head, "I know better than that," or at least, she liked to believe she did, a pajama set and some food didn't change all that he had put her through in the past three months.

He took a breath and let it out slowly, his fingers loosening in her grip once more as unconscious pulled him back into its grips.

She sighed deeply, leaning in and pressing another kiss to his temple, lingering longer this time, and closing her eyes tightly, a couple of tears rolled down her cheeks as she did do, "please be okay," she whispered, rubbing her hand over his, "I'll try to come back," she promised quietly and squeezed his hand before pulling away. As much as she wanted to stay there with him, she had to get back and hope she had managed this one outing without one of Lex's men seeing her.

 

* * *

Lex was sitting on the end of the bed, his expression stony, his eyes dark as he heard the door to the hotel room open and found Chloe standing there in the dress she'd worn to the fundraiser three nights before. His jaw was tight as he rose to his feet silently.

Chloe stilled completely as soon as she stepped inside and saw him there, swallowing hard, she just stared at him, but didn't move.

"Close the door," he said, his voice dangerously low.

She sighed softly but closed it. She couldn't have been gone for over than one hour, he wasn't supposed to get back for much longer than that.

He strode toward her, past her, locking all the locks. Then he turned, smacking her so hard across the face it sent her tumbling to the floor. "So much for _trust_."

Chloe covered her face, closing her eyes tightly, her knees and side had hit the floor hard when she fell. With a deep breath, she looked up at him, "I never said I trusted you _now_ ," she pointed out, "not after what you've been doing to me."

"I was starting to trust _you_ ," he said darkly. He reached down and yanked her to her feet hard enough to jerk her arm out of the socket. "But you're just like everyone else. Maybe even worse."

She cried out, stumbling to stand as he pulled her up, "I wasn't doing anything against you, I wasn't betraying you."

He gripped her arm tightly, yanking her roughly against him and glaring at her. "So you didn't sneak out to go see Oliver Queen?"

"Yes, I did," she said as firmly as she could manage, her arm burning, "but because he's hurt and in the hospital, he can't even _talk_ , Lex, I didn't go to plot with him against you, just to see how he was doing."

"The why is irrelavant, Chloe." He shoved her backwards, onto the bed. "You'll never be on _my_ side." His eyes were dark, stormy with anger and hate.

"Strip," he ordered.

"Stop this," she looked up at him, "it doesn't have to be this way, Lex."

"It didn't have to be," he said coldly. "But you ruined that. This is how it is. Now _strip_."

"If you want my trust, you have to earn it," she told him, watching him, "you have to show me you trust me."

"You reminded me that trust is overrated," he informed her coldly. "The only one I can trust is myself."

"No," she told him, sitting up on the bed, "things aren't black and white, Lex, I don't have to be cut off from everyone else to show you I trust you. I wouldn't have tried to sneak out if _you_ had trusted me to go and get back, and I did get back, I'm here, I could have ran, but I didn't. I could also have ran all day yesterday when you were out, but I stayed, because I want you to be able to trust me."

"You stayed because you know I'll kill him, and expose Clark." He approached the bed with dark eyes. "Trust is overrated. At least when people fear you they don't cross you so easily." His fingers curled into fists at his sides. "Undress, Chloe. Now."

"That would have been true two days ago," she told him, holding his gaze, "but yesterday I realized that the Lex that I did trust two years ago, the Lex that _can_ be a good man and do the right thing is still in there somewhere and you know you can be a better person, Lex. I get that you're hurt because Clark betrayed you and because of everything your dad did to you, but I'm not either of them and I'm not like either of them."

She took a deep breath, "we have a lot in common, you don't have to scare me into doing anything with you, I can _want_ to be here, but not like this."

"Consider yesterday a serious lapse of my better judgement," he said harshly, reaching out and hooking his hand into the front of her dress. "And allow me to show you just how wrong you are." He ripped the dress down the front.

Chloe gasped, her eyes wide as she glanced at the dress then up at him, shaking her head, "please stop, Lex," she said quietly, looking up at him, "no one trusts me either, _Clark_ doesn't trust me either. He believes I turned my back on him, after all these years of keeping his secret, he thinks I would turn away from him without a second thought."

"Like you did with _me_ ," he responded coldly, yanking the dress off her and forcing her onto her back, a hand wrapping around her throat. He glared down at her, his face inches from her. "I suppose this is the self-fulfilling prophecy in action, Chloe." He squeezed her throat tighter. "I _am_ the villain of the story."

She coughed, gasping for air and holding on to his arms to try and push him away, "please," she managed, tears starting to roll down her cheek.

His grip on her tightened just a little before he let up so she could breathe again. "That's right, _cry_ ," he said darkly. He grabbed her arms and pinned them above her head with one hand. With his other hand he began to undo his belt buckle.

It took her a moment to catch her breath, a pain so sharp shooting through her arm, she could barely stand it, "you father may have raised you to be like this," she gasped, swallowing hard, "but what would your mother think if she could see you right now?"

"My mother was a murderer," he said distantly, pulling his belt free from his pants. "She killed my brother when he was an infant. Too bad she didn't have the foresight to kill me, too." His fingernails dug into her skin.

"Why do you think she became a murderer? Why do you think she killed your brother? To _save_ him from your father." Chloe whimpered, shifting under him, "because this is what your dad did to her too, this is how he hurt her and scared her into submission." She swallowed hard, taking a deep breath as tears started running down her throat, "do you wanna know how she felt, Lex?"

"She didn't deem it necessary to save me from him, did she?" He glared at her. "And don't pretend you know anything about it." He reached over to the side table and picked up the handcuffs he'd left there the day before. He shifted momentarily, just long enough to flip her onto her stomach.

Chloe did her best to struggle, to try and get away from him, she didn't have anything left, she thought talking about his mother would help, but it was her last argument, "you don't have to do this, you don't have to be alone, Lex, please. You don't have to be like him."

"It's too late for that. It's too late for me. It's too late for _you_." He yanked her arms behind her back with more force than necessary, locking her hands into place with the handcuffs and tightening them around her wrists as tightly as they could go.

She cried out, closing her eyes tightly and sobbing, "I'm sorry."

"You will be," he agreed, slamming the belt onto her bare back so hard that the force caused a bright red mark to appear immediately.

Chloe cried out loudly, closing her eyes tightly and trying to pull her arms back, but only hurting herself more.

Lex ran his fingers long the mark, then pulled his hand away and whipped her again, then again, the third time causing her skin to break and bleed. "See what you've made me do, Chloe?" He demanded, yanking her head back by her hair.

"Stop," she cried out with a dry sob, "please stop."

"But we're just getting started." He shoved her face down into the pillow, rising up on his knees and undoing his pants, shoving them down. He reached under her, fingernails digging into her stomach as he forced her onto her knees as well. Wrapping one hand around her throat from behind, he used his other hand to guide his hardness to her entrance, pulling her back against his chest.

"No!" She screamed, trying to pull away from him as she felt him inside of her, her forehead pressed against the pillow as she sobbed, "don't do this, Lex, please!"

He thrust inside her roughly, not responding to her pleas. He tightened his hand around her throat at the same time, taking pleasure in her struggles. "Been awhile," he grunted against her ear, thrusting into her again, harder. "Hasn't it?"

She shuddered hard, closing her eyes tightly. Everything hurt, her arm, her side and now between her legs, her stomach turning as she started to realize exactly what he was doing to her. She had gotten so good at shutting everything down in the past few months, but in the last day or so, she had reluctantly let her guard down a little and now she was feeling everything and she didn't know how to pull away.

Lex shifted slightly, splitting her thighs further apart from behind and slamming inside of her, deeper, intentionally trying to make it hurt. It wasn't about sex. It was about _punishment_. Power. Control. Over her. "Who do you belong to, Chloe?" he demanded, dropping his hand from her throat to one of her breasts and pinching her nipple as hard as he could at the same time he rammed inside her.

Chloe didn't answer him, she closed her eyes tightly, she had started to feel guilty about leaving, about going to see Oliver and bringing this upon herself. But she knew that wasn't right, she knew Oliver needed her, and she knew, now more than ever, she needed him. She needed him to be okay and help her because she couldn't get out of this on her own.

At her lack of response, he grew more furious. He pumped into her viciously a couple more times, then pulled out of her, shoving her face down hard in the pillow, his hand around her neck. He dug his fingernails into her skin, then leaned forward, sitting on her back, biting down hard on her shoulder. "Who do you belong to, Chloe?" he demanded again, yanking her head up once more by her hair.

She was almost managing to shut him out but the new wave of pain ran through her and she heard his words, gasping loudly in pain but not answering him still.

Lex gritted his teeth together, moving off her and turning her over, and picking up his belt once more. He whipped it over her stomach, her thighs, her breasts. "Who do you belong to?" he demanded.

Chloe sobbed loudly, keeping her eyes closed tightly, the weight of her body over her hands making them and her arms hurt even more, "you," she cried, trying to shut him out again.

He smirked as he dropped the belt again, pumping his fist over his cock rapidly and ejaculating on her face. Shuddering, he felt himself beginning to calm. Then he leaned down and whispered in her ear. "Don't you ever fucking forget it."

She wiped her face on the pillow, not opening her eyes or turning to look at him, her entire body was burning but growing numb.

"I hope he was worth it," he said coldly, stalking away from the bed and leaving her there, handcuffed.

She turned on her side, relieving the weight from her and trying to clean herself on the pillow and sheets.

"I'll be ready to go again in twenty minutes," he said over his shoulder as he headed into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

Chloe opened her eyes after a long moment and her jaw clenched. Clearly, whatever this stupid power was, it didn't work as fast as Lex could hurt her, she had to find a way out and she had to find a way out soon or he would kill her without even meaning to.


	15. A Fine Line

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things aren't always what they seem.

Authors: chloeas and dl_greenarrow  
Title: A Fine Line  
Rating: Very strong NC-17  
Summary: Things aren't always what they seem.  
Warnings: This fic has a lot of Chlex in it, and it is about Chlollie but there is a lot of Chlex. It's dark, full of mature, violent, adult situations and could be triggering, this is your warning. It takes place during season six.

Bart knocked on the door of the room, and pushed his way in quietly, surprised to see Oliver was awake, he heard about the accident and he heard about how bad it was from Vic, and then all the reports on the news, he was surprised to hear that he was already in the room and out of the ICU considering just the previous day they weren't even sure he was gonna make it.

"Hey, man." He said quietly.

Oliver rolled his head toward the door, a small smile touching his mouth. "Hey, Bart."

"How are you feeling?" He asked, walking further into the room.

"Like I need to invest in a better car," he answered, exhaling slowly. "AC's watching the mansion?"

"Yeah, he just got there and I got back..." Bart paused, "no sign of them yet."

His smile slipped and he rubbed a hand over his face wearily, ignoring the pain from the bruise on his cheekbone. "We have to find her." He swallowed hard and started to sit up.

"I know, man, but you need to slow down, we're looking into it." He said worriedly.

Oliver looked at him. "Lex knows."

Bart blinked, raising his eyebrows, "what?"

"He knows everything. About me, about Clark, about the team." He rested a hand over his stomach as he sat up, breathing slowly. "He's holding it over her head."

With wide eyes, Bart's mouth dropped open, "how do you know?"

"That fundraiser. They were there. I followed her into the bathroom." His expression was pained.

"Man, quit moving, you're making me nervous," Bart frowned, crossing his arms over his chest, "what else did she say?"

Oliver closed his eyes for a moment. "That we can't help her. That he's too far ahead." His jaw tightened.

"Yeah, but we know it's not true."

He fell silent. "No. It's not true," he said quietly. Too quietly.

"Yeah, we're gonna figure it out, I'm gonna go see if I can find her, I mean, if she had left the country or something, Vic would know, right?"

He nodded slightly. "It's weird," he murmured, looking over at him after a moment. "It almost felt like she was here, Bart."

"What do you mean?" He asked, worried, he didn't believe in ghosts or anything but... no, he wasn't even gonna think about that.

Truthfully he wasn't even sure what he meant. He shook his head a little. "I don't know. I was probably just dreaming."

"Well, what did you dream? Maybe she did come by, did you ask the nurse?"

His eyes widened a little. "No. I didn't even think about it."

Bart nodded and smiled a little at him, "alright dude, I'm gonna go ask, just, wait, okay?"

 

Oliver nodded back at him, watching the younger man head out of his room. He looked down at the casts on his legs. He supposed he should have been grateful he hadn't broken one of his arms, but the broken legs were going to cause a problem. He needed to find out where Chloe was, where Lex was keeping her, and come up with a plan to get her the hell away from him.

He spoke to about six different people before he got back to the room, a grin on his face, "she was totally here, man, this morning apparently, one of the nurses said a blond with an attitude came by, has to be Chloe, right?"

A faint smile touched his lips. "Sure sounds like it."

"Awesome, she said she was here around nine, so, she can't have gone far, maybe she's going back to Smallville?"

"Maybe," he murmured. "Or she and Lex are still in Metropolis somewhere."

Bart frowned and nodded a little, "maybe the LuthorCorp towers?" He suggested.

"Worth a shot," he said quietly.

"Alright," Bart nodded, standing up straight, "I'm gonna go check, but seriously dude, quit moving around."

"Don't worry about me, Bart. Just focus on Chloe."

Bart frowned at him, "I can do both, I'll be back soon," he told Oliver before disappearing.

 

Oliver drew in a breath and let it out slowly, reluctantly laying his head back against the pillow.

* * *

Chloe could barely walk by the time they made it back to Smallville and she never thought she would be so relieved to to see the Luthor mansion before. But the mansion meant eyes and ears on them and although she knew it wouldn't stop all of it, it might lessen it. Besides, at least there, she had her mom.

Once the limo pulled up to the driveway, she shifted on her seat. She couldn't sit up because bending her stomach made the pain worse. So she slid forward a little and waited for the door to open, relieved to see Joseph was the open opening it. He seemed to be the only one of Lex's lackey's that was willing to help. And she would need his help in the morning, when Lex couldn't punish him for helping her.

With a deep breath, she pushed herself slowly on her feet, her arms burning, legs trembling, she felt so weak and she kept wondering when the hell her powers were supposed to kick in.

There was worry in Joseph's eyes as he saw the marks and bruises on what little skin there was showing. She was dressed in long pants, heels, and a turtleneck. But between the slight wobble in her step and the bruise on her cheek, he felt his stomach tighten.

Lex climbed out of the car behind her, then wound his arm firmly around her waist, squeezing her to his side. "Come along, Darling."

Chloe couldn't stop herself from wincing as he wrapped his arm around her, but she leaned slightly into him for support, doing her best not to meet Joseph's gaze.

Pleased with her response to him, Lex leaned down and kissed her temple, guiding her up the sidewalk and into the mansion. "I presume dinner will be ready soon. Why don't we take a nice hot shower first?"

She swallowed hard and walked with him silently. She hadn't said anything since the first round, and that had made things worse a few times, but she didn't have the energy to speak.

He smiled at her lack of response. "I'll take your silence as an affirmative."

 

Chloe wasn't paying attention to what he was saying, she was staring ahead blankly, focusing on moving her legs to get upstairs. He would take her silence or words as whatever the hell he wanted anyway, what was the point?

Lex guided her into the master bedroom and then into the master bathroom, locking the door behind them. "Besides, I need to tend to some of those wounds."

She pulled away from him and leaned against the sink. She hoped the wounds had been just like he left them, hoping nothing had healed because she knew he wouldn't hesitate on repeating his earlier actions.

 

He smiled at her, then reached out and pulled the shirt off over her head before undoing her pants. "Go ahead and get in," he told her, nodding toward the shower as he began to strip, as well.

Chloe swallowed hard, holding on to the wall as she moved to stand inside the bathtub, the last thing she wanted was to have to shower with him, but hot water sounded good, even if she knew he was going to ruin it somehow.

 

He waited until she'd turned on the hot water, then climbed into the shower behind her, pulling the shower door shut. He reached for the bar of soap and lathered up his hands before putting it back in the same spot. Then he moved her forward just a little so she was under the spray of the water, and he began to slide his hands down her back, cleaning the broken skin.

She whimpered, closing her eyes tightly and placing her palms against the wall, she had no idea how bad her back was, she was pretty sure she passed out at some point and even before that, she couldn't feel the new wounds he was inflicting on her, she was hurting as much as she could already.

He pushed her further under the spray so the water would wash away the soap, then he picked up the bar once more, lathering his hands again and pulling her backwards, sliding his hands down over her breasts and then her stomach, his fingers following the length of the large multiple welts he'd left on her. He pressed a kiss to the back of her shoulder.

Her jaw tightened and her body tensed but she didn't open her eyes, focusing on the water and not on his hands, although she wasn't sure if what she was feeling on her face were tears or water from the shower. She didn't remember crying at all, but she remembered feeling the pillow getting wet at some point and figure that was what was happening.

Lex felt her tense against him and smiled a bit, sliding his hands down between her legs momentarily, then back up again. He pressed his hardening length against her ass, moving his hands over her slowly as the water sprayed down on them. He found the spot on her neck where he'd bit her earlier, and kissed it lightly.

Chloe shuddered, a quiet sob breaking through her as she felt him pressing against her ass. She had to focus so she wouldn't feel anything this time.

He pulled her closer to him, sliding one arm around her waist and bending her forward just a little as he slipped inside her. He kissed her shoulder blade, and then the back of her neck, sliding his tongue down the large welt on her back as he thrust up into her slowly.

She was definitely crying, she decided, when she actually sobbed out loud. She had to think of something else, think of what she would do about this, how she could stop it.

"Shh," he murmured against her ear, his hands sliding up to cup her breasts as he thrust into her again, shallow, gentle movements. "Relax, Chloe." He rubbed his thumbs over her nipples in slow circles, kissing the back of her neck again.

His words just made her stiffen more, but she managed to block him out mostly. She would talk to Joseph as soon as she could, once Lex was gone.

His chest pressed against her back a little more firmly as he thrust into her a little faster, sliding one of his hands down between her legs and rubbing her clit in slow, methodic circles.

In the back of her head, she knew her body was responding to his touches, but it didn't matter. She hoped Joseph had a wife or a sister, she needed someone to get her the morning after pills.

Tugging gently on one of her nipples in time with his movements inside her, he smiled, pressing the pad of his thumb a little harder against her. "Do you think we've made a baby yet?" he murmured against her ear.

His words pulled her out again, so she focused harder. She was pretty sure she had cash, at least fifty in her wallet. That should be enough for now.

At her lack of response, Lex paused, slowly pulling out of her and turning her to face him. He reached down, grabbing the back of her left thigh and wrapping it around his waist, pressing her back against the shower door as he lifted her enough to enter her once more. "That's better," he said with a smile, staring hard into her eyes.

Although she was staring at him, her expression remained blank. She wondered who else she could ask for it if Joseph didn't work. Maybe one of the girls at the Planet, she could tell them she was too embarrassed to get it for herself.

 

"Maybe third time will be the charm," he told her as he thrust into her once more, tightening his grip on her hips as his climax hit. He dropped his forehead forward, against her chest as he shut his eyes.

She didn't move, didn't blink, just stayed exactly where she was. Once she had spoken with Joseph, she would go see her mom and maybe lay down with her for a while. Chloe missed her, and she was tired.

At her blank expression, Lex frowned. "What's wrong with you?"

Chloe blinked a couple of times when he spoke and focused her gaze on his face again.

"Snap out of it," he said, frown deepening.

She knew what he was saying but she couldn't bring herself to respond. It wouldn't matter anyway.

Lex stared at her a moment longer, then set her back down on her own two feet once more, smacking her lightly in the face as if that would snap her out of her catatonia.

Her jaw tightened a little at that and she dropped her head back against the wall, sighing deeply. It was over. Good. "I'm tired," she whispered, her voice hoarse, probably from the screaming, she assumed.

He was silent for a moment. Then he reached out and shut off the water, opened the sliding door. "Let's get you dried off and into bed then."

She nodded slightly and shifted, starting out of the bathtub. Going to bed sounded good, she could sleep and forget everything else.

Lex grabbed the towel from the towel rack and began to dry her off, placing a kiss against her forehead and smiling a bit. Then he pulled on a pair of boxer shorts, unlocked the bathroom door and led her into the bedroom once more. Instead of guiding her to get pajamas, he simply led her to bed and pulled the covers back.

Chloe didn't care that she wasn't wearing anything, she just didn't want to be on her feet anymore. She was in a lot of pain still and she knew it would only hurt more when she laid down and her skin touched the sheets, but she didn't care, she wasn't going to ask him for anything.

As her back hit the bed, she knew she had been right, and she hoped he would leave for a while so she could get up and take some painkillers.

He pressed a kiss to her mouth, then moved to get dressed. "Sure you don't want dinner?"

She nodded but barely, closing her eyes, a little relaxed that he actually planned on leaving.

"All right. Get some rest. I'll be back after I eat," he told her, his tone insinuating he was trying to _reassure_ her. He headed out the door.

 

As soon as the door closed behind him, she pushed herself on her feet, took the medicine the doctor had given her for when Lex tested on her and swallowed it dry, already on her way back to bed, but then she paused, walked into the closed and picked up a pair of clean underwear and a t-shirt, it hurt to slide it on, but she felt better having it on. Now she could sleep and hopefully, her body would have healed some in the morning so she could start on what she was planning.

 

* * *

Lex sat on the edge of the bed, watching her intently as she slept. The bruise on her face was completely gone, the bruising around her neck had also faded overnight. He was starting to think that her healing ability kicked in as she slept. He tugged the covers back and slid her shirt up a little. Sure enough the welts on her stomach and thighs had faded, too. Smiling a bit, he reached out and placed a hand on her arm, shaking her gently. "Wake up, Sleepyhead."

Chloe frowned in her sleep for a moment then slowly opened her eyes, frowning up at him.

"I brought you breakfast," he told her.

 

She looked at him for a moment, starting to turn carefully as she expected her body to start hurting, but frowned again as it didn't, turning on her back but doing her best to keep herself from looking down at her body, she didn't want him to start poking at her.

He smiled and reached over to the nightstand where he'd set the silver tray with a plate of pancakes and bacon, along with silverware and a vase with a single red rose.

 

She sat up and leaned back against the pillows, but didn't say anything as he set the tray up over her lap. She was starving.

Lex leaned in and kissed her forehead. "Enjoy. I have to head to work."

Chloe didn't bother looking at him and started pouring maple syrup over her pancakes, she was looking forward to not having to be around him for a few hours.

 

He watched her for a moment, then patted her knee and headed out of the room, leaving her alone once more.

She took her time eating, she didn't want to risk getting out of the bedroom and running into Lex. After breakfast, where she ignored the bacon that he had brought to her, if protein was supposed to help her get pregnant, she would be going vegetarian for a while, sure, she knew there was protein in other things, but she would be avoiding it if she could, she took a long shower and was surprised to see that all of her cuts had closed and all of her bruises were starting to fade. Maybe sleeping sped up the healing process and if she kept this up, maybe she would be able to make an appearance at the Planet the following morning.

After changing into comfortable clothes, she made her way out of the bedroom and started looking for Joseph around the mansion, she hoped he was working that morning.

He was reading the morning's edition of the Planet by the front door when he heard footsteps approaching and he looked up, his eyes widening a little. "Are you well enough to be up?" he asked uncertainly.

"I'm okay," she assured him, apparently she looked worse than she thought she previous night. She glanced around casually, her voice low, "are there any cameras on us?"

His gaze flickered to the ceiling momentarily. "Yes. But the room down the hall, third door on the right. There aren't any there."

"I'll meet you there in thirty minutes," she said quietly, turning around and walking inside without waiting for a response, she didn't want to get the other man in trouble, so they had to be careful about this. She would see her mom for a little while then go find him.

 

Thirty minutes later, Joseph was seated in a chair in the small room, which purpose he had yet to figure out. He figured it was just something with people who had so much money they didn't know what else to do with it. He glanced up as her heard her step inside, and he held up a finger, pulling a small device from his pocket and clicking it on.

Chloe stilled for a second, she didn't have to ask what the device was, he was making sure that if either one of them were bugged, all the other side would hear was static. She definitely liked this guy.

 

"Gift from a friend of yours," he said quietly.

She frowned, cocking her head, "friend of mine?"

 

Joseph held her gaze. "Mr. Queen."

Her lips twitched into a tiny smile and she nodded slightly, "should have known he wouldn't just sit back and do nothing."

He smiled back faintly. "Doesn't seem his style," he said wryly, thinking of how the other guy had grabbed him and hauled him onto the hospital elevator.

She took a deep breath and stepped forward, her expression serious and a little scared, "I need to ask you a favor, but I don't want you getting into trouble because of me, so feel free to say no," she told him quietly, watching him closely.

He frowned a little, worry crossing his features. "What do you need?"

 

"I need what they call the morning after pill, as many as you can buy," she told him, holding out the fifty dollar bill that she had in her pocket, if you can't get it yourself, I'm sure Oliver can have someone get it for you, I just can't risk Lex finding out I'm buying some or I would get them myself," she whispered, her stomach turning, if Joseph said no, she would have to figure out another way because she couldn't risk not taking it.

He held his hand up, shaking his head at the money. "I'll get it. You may need that for something later," he told her quietly. "I'll talk to Mr. Queen."

"I need it today," she said urgently, looking up at him and sliding the money inside her pocket, "do you think you can get it?"

 

"I'll find a way," he promised, rising to his feet. "Are you...all right?" There was hesitance in his voice, worry. "When you two returned yesterday..."

"Thank you," she said sincerely then nodded, "I'm feeling a lot better," she promised him then watched him for a moment, "I don't know what your deal with Oliver is, but... tell him as little as you can, he's not doing well and I don't want him to take action before he's ready." She told him quietly, her voice was also worried.

Joseph paused, looking down. "He's my real employer," he confessed. "At least for the last few weeks."

Chloe smiled a little at that and nodded, taking a deep breath, "a much better choice, if you can get out of here, don't hesitate."

"I won't once my job is done," he said seriously.

She frowned a little, "and I assume your job is to make sure I'm still alive?"

Joseph simply gazed back at her.

 

Chloe nodded a little and took a deep breath, "would you," she paused, "could you let me know how Oliver is doing after you see him?"

"Of course," he promised with a nod. "And for the record, even if I weren't working for Mr. Queen..." His voice trailed off.

"Thank you," she told him quietly, watching him for a moment, "I have no idea how much you're risking to help me, but I really appreciate it, Joseph."

"It's the right thing to do," he said quietly in return, offering her a small smile. "As soon as my shift is over I'll head to Metropolis."

 

Chloe smiled a little and nodded, "you sound like your new employer already," she said softly then added, "thank you again."

"You're welcome." He nodded and unclicked the device in his hand, slipping it back into his pocket before he headed for the door.

She sighed deeply, relaxing slightly as the other man walked out of the room. She should have known Oliver would have had someone on the inside and if Joseph's wording was anything to go by, she figured Oliver hired him when they were at the Hospital. She wondered how much Joseph had been telling Oliver and how much Joseph even knew to begin with, but she was relieved to know that she had a way of contacting the boys if things got way too out of hand or if she felt like they were in danger.


	16. A Fine Line

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things aren't always what they seem.

Authors: chloeas and dl_greenarrow  
Title: A Fine Line  
Rating: Very strong NC-17  
Summary: Things aren't always what they seem.  
Warnings: This fic has a lot of Chlex in it, and it is about Chlollie but there is a lot of Chlex. It's dark, full of mature, violent, adult situations and could be triggering, this is your warning. It takes place during season six.

It didn't make any sense.

Oliver stared after the doctor that had just left his room. Both of his legs had been broken, and now his right one was almost fully healed with just a slight fracture in his lower left leg.

How was that even possible?

He didn't know, but he was glad because it meant they were removing the right cast at least. Still.

He was about to pick up his phone to call the guys, when footsteps approached his door. He looked up to see Joseph standing there, his hands tucked into his jacket pockets. Immediately alarm shot through him. He sat up. "What is it?"

"Mr. Queen," he said with a nod, walking inside and closing the door behind him, "I thought you would want an update, they are back."

Oliver relaxed a little. He'd known that last night, from AC, who'd seen the car arrive back at the mansion. "How are things going?"

"Ms. Sullivan wasn't doing too well, but she seems to have gotten better," he said quietly, the device Oliver had given him had been on since he arrived at the hospital, "she came to see me this morning."

"What do you mean by she wasn't doing too well?" He sat forward a little more, worry in his eyes.

"I couldn't see much," he admitted, "but what little skin I could see, was covered in bruises."

He tensed at that, his eyes narrowing. "Are you telling me he put his hands on her?"

"I'm telling you what I saw," he said carefully, "the bruises were almost gone when I saw her this morning."

Oliver paused, taking that in. Bruises never just faded overnight. _Just like broken bones don't,_ he thought, eyebrows furrowing. He blinked a couple of times and looked at the other man. "And she came to see you this morning?"

"She asked me a favor," he admitted, looking at Oliver.

"What did she ask?" He frowned.

"Morning after pills," Joseph said quietly, his own jaw tightening.

His gut twisted and he felt like he was going to throw up. His heart began to beat quickly against his chest. He opened his mouth to respond, but no sound came out.

Joseph stayed quiet for a moment then straightened his back, "I told her I was working for you, she was concerned you would be doing too much too quickly, before you got better."

Oliver shut his eyes, cursing under his breath. Lex was _torturing_ her, and she was worried about him? "I'll put a call into my private physician for the pills." He reached out and grabbed a piece of paper, scribbling an address on it and holding it out. "They'll be at that location within an hour."

He took the paper and nodded, "I'll bring it back to her tonight."

"Thank you. Please keep in touch." He watched the other man head to the door, then picked up his phone and dialed Bart. "It's me. Go get her and bring her here." Without waiting for a response, he hung up the phone.

* * *

Chloe was on her laptop, in the library when she felt the strong, familiar wind coming into the room, she felt herself being picked up but before she could even have a chance to see who it was, they were moving, her eyes closed tightly for a couple of seconds and when she opened them again, she was in a hospital room, Oliver's hospital room, in Bart's arms. She stared between the two men, raising her eyebrows.

Oliver didn't meet her eyes. "Bart, I need to talk to Chloe alone, please." His voice was quiet.

After he set her on the ground, Bart was gone, she frowned and watched as the door closed behind him then turned to Oliver again, "what is going on?"

"It's over. You're not doing this anymore." His voice was quiet, serious.

She blinked, staring at him for a full moment then it dawned on her, her expression turning blank, "you spoke with Joseph."

"Yes. And it's over. It ends right now, Chloe."

"It's not that simple, Oliver." She said firmly, "I'm having Bart run me back, I can't risk my mom's life anymore than I already am because you're upset."

"Then we'll have Bart go get your mother. I'll fly the two of you somewhere safe. With Lois. With your _dad_." He sat up in bed.

"And then what? Let Lex do this to the next person he feels like it? No." She told him.

"He won't have the chance. Because as soon as I'm out of here, he's dead, Chloe." His jaw was tight.

Chloe took a deep breath and stared at him, "I told you already, you go into this without planning it right, you're dead, Oliver."

"Stop worrying about _me_ , Chloe. Look at what's he doing to _you_!"

"I can handle it," she said tightly, "he won't kill me."

"He already is," he said quietly.

"You wanna help?" She asked, stepping close to the bed, her jaw clenched, "here's what you do, you find a way to kill him without getting yourself hurt and without hurting anyone else and stop trying to tell me what to do."

He flinched at the anger in her voice. "Chloe, I'm trying to help you. Lex is--he's _crazy_. He's been crazy since he was a kid and it's just gotten worse."

"Believe it or not, Oliver, I figured that out on my own," she said coldly, "I know what to expect from him and I can take care of myself," she lied, holding his gaze, "stop worrying about _me_ and do what you've been thinking of doing for months."

Oliver stared at her, his chest tight. He shut his eyes. "Okay."

Chloe watched him for a moment and sighed, shaking her head, she wasn't being fair, she couldn't ask him this. But after yesterday, she hadn't been able to think straight. "I will do it myself," she told him, taking a deep breath, she had wanted to do it so badly yesterday, she knew she could if he did that to her again, and she knew he would the second he found out she had been gone, "I just can't figure out _how_."

"Let me do this much for you," he said quietly, opening his eyes to look at her, his own eyes dark, filled with guilt. "You don't need this on your conscience, Chloe. And I'm not sure even my lawyers would be able to get you off the hook for this."

 

"I can't let you get blood on your hands because of me." She held his gaze, her own eyes a little wide.

"Hey, you know I was already planning on it," he said, a hint of defensiviness in his tone this time. "We both know it was just a matter of time. Lex hasn't just crossed a line, he's obliterated it completely. And I'm not going to feel guilty about it."

"Trust me," she said firmly, " I won't feel guilty about it either."

"Maybe not right away. But eventually you will." There was certainty in his voice. "You're not the kind of person who can take another's life and not feel it eventually, Chloe."

"And you are?"

"Yes." There was no hesitation before he answered.

"Have you ever taken a life before, Oliver?" She stared him dead in the eyes, her own narrowing slightly.

Oliver simply looked back at her without responding.

"You're not like him, you're lying to me if you tell me you won't feel guilty." She told him firmly, "I have more reason to do this than you do."

He rubbed a hand over his face. "I can do this. I can do it and _not_ wind up in prison."

"And what happens if something goes wrong and _you_ get killed instead?" She said tightly.

"Have a little faith in me, Chloe." His voice was quiet and he winced at his own words. He'd given her no reason _to_ have faith in him. He'd let her down already.

"That isn't my problem," she told him, "my problem would be having to live with myself if that happened." Her own voice was quiet, but her eyes never left him.

Oliver gazed back at her. "I'm aware of the risks. I always have been. Every time I go out there and do what I do, I know the possibilities. I'm not like Vic or Clark or Bart or AC. But I still do it, Chloe. And like I said, you already knew I was considering this particular course of action before any of this happened."

"Let me think about this," she told him, crossing her arms over her chest, "or if I can figure out any other ways to go about it and I will let you know through Joseph."

He was silent for a long moment. "All right."

"How are you feeling?" She asked, frowning slightly, "you seem to have improved a lot in the last twenty-four hours."

"Yeah, about that." Oliver gazed at her intently. "Joseph said I wasn't the only one who healed pretty rapidly almost over night."

Her jaw tightened a little, "I doubt that my reason for healing is the same one as yours, Oliver," she said with a frown, her arms tightening over her chest, maybe it was time he knew.

"Isn't it?" His voice dropped and he leaned forward a little. "I know you were here before, Chloe. That you came to see me." He searched her eyes.

Chloe blinked a couple of times at that. Could it be? She stepped forward, lowering her voice, "I'm a meteor freak, Oliver, and apparently my power is to heal myself, but as far as I know, I can't heal anyone else."

 

 

He was quiet for a moment. "Maybe you did it without realizing it," he murmured. "Because there's no way a broken leg heals that fast. And my right leg is completely healed. My concussion faded overnight, too."

She took a deep breath and just kept her eyes on him, "I'm sure if I'm able to heal other people, the tests will let him know soon enough."

He froze at that. "Tests?" he echoed, stomach twisting into a knot.

"I'm a meteor freak, Oliver, do you think he'll have me around and not do anything with that? But don't worry, they are not that bad, not what I'm awake for anyway," she kept her voice void of any kind of emotions. It was true, though, compared to the rest of it, the tests were the best part of the whole experience.

He shut his eyes against the sudden rush of tears he felt, and he forced himself to take a deep breath before opening them again. "You are _not_ a freak. You're an amazing person, Chloe. Don't you let him convince you otherwise."

She was a little surprised by what she saw in his eyes and a little overwhelmed, so she had to look away, "I don't care what he thinks, trust me," she told him, pursing her lips together then shaking her head, "it's a long story, but I have to get back, he's probably on his way back to Smallville already and I can't risk my mother getting hurt."

"Be careful, Chloe," he murmured.

"You too," she told him quietly then paused as she started to turn away then turning back at him, "did you manage to help Joseph with what I asked him?"

"You'll have them by tonight," he whispered.

She sighed in relief and nodded, taking a step backwards, "thank you," she said quietly before walking out of the room. She had to find Bart and get back. Fast.

Oliver watched her go, then shut his eyes tightly, feeling nauseous. Then he buzzed for the nurse. He was getting out of the hospital, whether the doctor released him or not. Because there were more important things to worry about.


	17. A Fine Line

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things aren't always what they seem.

Authors: [](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/profile)[**chloeas**](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/) and [](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/profile)[**dl_greenarrow**](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/)  
Title: A Fine Line  
Rating: Very strong NC-17  
Summary: Things aren't always what they seem.  
Warnings: This fic has a lot of Chlex in it, and it is about Chlollie but there is a lot of Chlex. It's dark, full of mature, violent, adult situations and could be triggering, this is your warning. It takes place during season six.

[Prologue](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/888487.html) \-- [Two](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/890925.html) \-- [Three](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/894470.html) \-- [Four](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/896305.html) \-- [Five](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/900742.html) \-- [Six](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/902437.html) \-- [Seven](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/905366.html) \-- [Eight](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/909819.html) \-- [Nine](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/912327.html) \-- [Ten](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/915161.html) \-- [Eleven](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/917564.html) \-- [Twelve](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/919684.html) \-- [Thirteen](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/922545.html) \-- [Forteen](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/926167.html) \-- [Fifteen](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/930677.html) \-- [Sixteen](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/933620.html)

When Bart ran her back to the mansion and left her in the chair he had found her before disappearing, her heart was beating fast. She knew the place she had been sitting at was out of sight from the cameras, but she couldn't be sure that Lex hadn't noticed. She took a deep breath and stood, doing her best to walk slowly to where her mother was and once she made sure she was okay, Chloe managed to relax.

A couple of hours went by and Joseph showed up with the pills, which he brought to her inside of a box of tampons. She thought that was smart, and as soon as he was out of the door, she took one, immediately feeling more relieved, as long as she had the pills, she could make sure she was in control of that much, at least.

Around seven, she decided to take a long shower, Lex wasn't back yet and she didn't know how much longer he would be, but he usually wasn't gone that long and that worried her. For all she knew, he had found out about her hospital visit and was now planning his next torture session. She changed and was about to make her way to her mom's room again when she heard his voice coming down the hall, towards her. He was pissed, apparently, and barking orders at one of his lackeys. That wasn't a good start.

Lex hadn't had a good day at work. The board hadn't agreed to a plan he'd lain out to buy a section of the park and turn it into a new cancer wing for Metropolis General. Oliver Queen might have donated enough to open a similar wing for Smallville General, but the one he'd planned was far better, far bigger, and far more advanced than what they planned to do with Queen's money. "Don't disturb us," he ordered the rest of his staff as he headed toward Chloe. "Going somewhere?"

"I was going to sit down with my mom for a while," she told him, raising the book she had in her hand.

"You've had all day for that," he said coldly.

She relaxed a little at that, although he seemed angry, it didn't seem to be directed at her and even though she knew he would take it out on her either way, she knew it would be a lot worse if he knew where she'd been or about the pill she had just taken, "you weren't here, I didn't have anything else to do." She told him blankly.

"Well now I am and now you do," he informed her, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her farther down the corridor, away from the bedroom and toward the stairs.

Chloe frowned, maybe she had been relieved far too soon, but away from the bedroom was a good thing as far as she knew, "where are we going?"

"To the cellar," he informed her without looking at her.

Maybe this wasn't better than the bedroom after all, "why?"

"Because I had a special room constructed some months ago and I haven't given you the tour yet." His voice was distant.

Chloe's eyes widened slightly, but as long as he was answering her questions, she would keep asking, "what kind of room?"

"Soundproof, for one." He opened the cellar door and yanked her inside, shutting the door behind them.

Her stomach clenched. He knew and now he could torture her in the comfort of his own home. She didn't say anything this time, her jaw just tightened and the second he let go of her arm, her arms went around herself.

"I had a really shitty day today," he informed her, grabbing her arm once more and pulling her farther into the cellar, hitting a few buttons on a keypad that caused a hidden door to slide open.

Chloe swallowed, holding her breath as she stared into the hidden room. It fit the castle, because it looked like a dungeon. A torture dungeon.

Lex pulled her inside and shut the door before turning to face her, a cruel smile on his face.

She sighed deeply, swallowing and staring at him.

He reached out and ran a hand over her damp hair, then yanked it hard, pulling her into the middle of the room. He reached up with his free hand and tugged on the retractable chains, pulling them down from the ceiling.

The second he yanked at her arm, her expression went completely blank and she shut down. She wasn't going through it again.

As he tightened the metal cuffs around her wrists he smiled, his lips near her ear. "By the way. We're getting married on Saturday."

She blinked at that, but didn't move, her mind going back to the conversation she had with Oliver. This room was completely hidden and like Lex himself said, it was soundproof. She could kill him there, make him suffer and no one would ever know.

Lex moved over to the wall and picked up a small whip, then turned to face her. "Ready?"

* * *

She could feel her back burning under the numbness, but she still had her clothes on and she decided that was a plus. He had been talking, and she had her arms tied up above her head, but otherwise, she didn't know what was happening, just that it seemed to have stopped.

He lifted her shirt to see what kind of damage he'd inflicted and wasn't surprised to find her back was bloody. He pressed his hand against it firmly.

Chloe felt the pressure but nothing else, she had been there for a long time, apparently, because her legs were getting tired, but all the while, she was planning on ways to use the room against Lex, so she managed to keep herself entertained and block him out completely.

He smiled a bit and brought his bloodied hand around so she could see it, then licked one of his fingers. "So I think it's time to test a theory."

She stared at his hands, not surprised to see blood in it, she knew it was her blood, but it didn't bother her. Her body was taking care of it. She had more important things to focus on.

"I wonder if you can sleep standing up. And if not, do you think your powers will still work without the rest?" He cocked his head to the side and studied her for a moment.

Chloe blinked at him but didn't answer. She didn't have one, and even if she did, she didn't care to speak to him.

Lex pressed his hand to her face and kissed her mouth. "Goodnight, Chloe. Sweet dreams." He moved away from her and headed out the door, leaving her there strung up by her wrists. He locked the door behind him and headed for the stairs.

She stared after him for a moment, wishing she had been selfish enough to take Oliver on his offer and just let him help her and her family and then worry about the rest of it. But she couldn't, she would have to be patient and plan this right so she could end it for everyone.

* * *

Hours later, much later than he usually awoke for work, Lex descended the stairs to the cellar, unlocking the door and finding her, not surprisingly, still in the same position he'd left her. He walked over to her, pulled her shirt up and raised an eyebrow. The welts and bruises had faded some--but not a lot. "Well, it looks like my theory proves to be at least somewhat accurate. Apparently your body does require sleep in order to really heal itself."

She looked at him out of the corner of her eyes, she was exhausted and her back had started to hurt a lot and she guessed that because her body started to heal itself, she was getting more and more tired.

He moved over to the wall to retrieve the key to the chains, undoing the cuffs around her wrists.

Chloe collapsed limbless to the floor, whimpering quietly as she moved her arms down, they had been in that position for so long, she couldn't feel them at all anymore.

Lex raised an eyebrow as she fell, but made no move to help her up. He hooked the chains back up to their original position on the ceiling.

Slowly, she adjusted her position to the floor, moving her hands to help the blood get to them and sighed deeply, closing her eyes.

"I'm late for work," he informed her.

She sighed again, this time in relief as she started massaging her arms.

Lex watched her for a moment longer, then reached down and yanked her to her feet abruptly. "Get out," he ordered, shoving her toward the door.

"I'm _tired_ , you asshole," she snapped at him with the little energy she had left as she stumbled outside the door, "leave me alone."

He narrowed his eyes at her, following her closely. "What did you call me?" he demanded.

Her jaw tightened and she stared at him, leaning back against the wall.

Lex glared at her, getting into her face. "If you think that last night was bad, wait until I get home from work later," he whispered. "You haven't seen anything yet, Chloe." His eyes intense, he moved away from her, heading up the stairs once more.

She sighed deeply as she watched him head out of the cellar, dropping to the floor once more. She needed a little more rest before she could make it to the bedroom.

* * *

He waited until he was sure Lex was gone before slowly heading down the cellar stairs, wincing when he found her collapsed at the bottom. He knelt down beside her, gently brushing some hair out of her face. "Are you all right?" he whispered.

Chloe blinked her eyes open, looking up when she felt a hand on her, "Joseph?"

"It's me," he murmured, his eyes filled with worry. "Come on. Let me get you upstairs." He slid his arm beneath her and picked her up.

"Thank you," she said quietly, leaning into him and closing her eyes.

"How long have you been down here?" he asked quietly, carrying her up the stairs.

"Since last night," she whispered, her voice lowering as she opened her eyes slightly, "there's a secret room, torture," she said tiredly, "tell him."

Joseph's eyes widened in shock and he swallowed hard. "Okay, I'll let him know," he murmured, carrying her toward the bedroom.

"No cameras, soundproof," she closed her eyes, "tell him that."

His eyebrows furrowed a little as he carefully laid her down in the bed after yanking the covers back. "Rest."

"Thank you," she repeated with a deep sigh.

"Can I get you anything?" He lowered his voice. "Do you need a pill?"

"Not today," she said, smiling slightly as she shifted against the pillow, her eyes still closed, "thank you."

He hesitated, nodding a little. "I'll be right outside if you need anything," he told her softly, heading for the door.

"Don't get into trouble," she whispered tiredly, pulling the covers around herself and sighing deeply as she relaxed.

Joseph glanced at her over his shoulder and headed into the hallway, into one of the corners where no cameras were watching. He hit the scrambler device and pulled out his cell phone.

* * *

Oliver sat at his desk in the clocktower, staring intently at the gun that lay before him. It wasn't registered, of course, and the way he'd gone about getting it, he was fairly certain no one would ever be able to tie him to it. He didn't like guns.

He'd never liked guns.

But he couldn't exactly kill Lex with an arrow unless he wanted his better half blamed for the murder.

He drew in a breath and let it out slowly, starting slightly when his phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID, immediately recognizing the number and quickly pressing the phone to his ear. "Is she all right?"

"She's hurt," he whispered against the phone, looking down the hall to make sure no one was coming, "I found her in the cellar."

His chest tightened. "How bad?" He rose to his feet.

"Looks like she'll be okay, she said she was just tired," he said quietly, "asked me to tell you a couple of things."

Oliver forced himself to take a deep breath. "All right. What?"

He listened in silence for a second, making sure no one was around, "there's a secret room in the cellar, some kind of torture room, she asked me to tell you there are no cameras in it, and that it's soundproof."

He froze in place. "Is that--is that where he had her?" His voice was strained.

"Yes." Joseph said quietly, but his own jaw tightened.

Oliver's gaze shifted to the gun on his desk once more. "Thank you for letting me know."

"I'll let you know if I hear something else," he told Oliver before hanging up.

His hand tightened around the phone as he shut it. He had the gun. Now he just had to acquire the rest of what he'd need.

Lex Luthor would be dead before the weekend was over.


	18. A Fine Line

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things aren't always what they seem.

Authors: [](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/profile)[**chloeas**](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/) and [](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/profile)[**dl_greenarrow**](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/)  
Title: A Fine Line  
Rating: Very strong NC-17  
Summary: Things aren't always what they seem.  
Warnings: This fic has a lot of Chlex in it, and it is about Chlollie but there is a lot of Chlex. It's dark, full of mature, violent, adult situations and could be triggering, this is your warning. It takes place during season six.

[Prologue](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/888487.html) \-- [Two](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/890925.html) \-- [Three](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/894470.html) \-- [Four](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/896305.html) \-- [Five](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/900742.html) \-- [Six](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/902437.html) \-- [Seven](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/905366.html) \-- [Eight](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/909819.html) \-- [Nine](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/912327.html) \-- [Ten](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/915161.html) \-- [Eleven](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/917564.html) \-- [Twelve](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/919684.html) \-- [Thirteen](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/922545.html) \-- [Forteen](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/926167.html) \-- [Fifteen](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/930677.html) \-- [Sixteen](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/933620.html) \-- [Seventeen](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/936025.html)

 

Saturday had arrived, Chloe didn't know if it had been too fast or too slow, not that it mattered. Lex had been as bad as ever in the past few days. He had locked her down in the dungeon, that was what she was calling the secret room in the cellar, again on Wednesday night, punishment for her calling him an asshole. But he hadn't touched her, not with his hands anyway. He had whipped her with the whip, his belt, the chain and there was no part of her body left behind. She was completely bruised the next morning and he had kept her in there, hanging by her arms until Friday morning, when he let her down and out to get some sleep so she would be healed for the wedding.

And it looked like her body was starting to catch up with Lex, even though she had been just hanging there, she had started to heal, and she was almost completely bruise-less by Saturday morning, with the exception of her thighs and stomach, where the injuries had been the worse. And the only bright side to all this was that she hadn't needed anymore of the pills.

Lex had shoved her off the bed sometime around eight, reminding her she had to get ready and that she was supposed to be excited. She ate and then she found herself in one of the many rooms of the mansion, where one of the women took care her nails, another worked on her hair and a third did her make up. They tried talking to her, but when she hadn't answered more than 'yes' or 'no', they had given up on small talk and had worked in silence since. Chloe had been so out of it, she didn't really notice she was ready until they moved her to stand in front of the mirror and told her how amazing she looked.

All she could do was stare at herself, she did look pretty, but she was also paler than usual and apparently, she had lost more weight, but it was her eyes that she barely recognized as they stared back at her. They were blank, completely hollow and void of... everything she was before this started. She blinked a couple of times and took a deep breath. She planned on contacting Ollie once the wedding was over with, telling him her plan to drug Lex then lock him in that dungeon and let her have some quality time with her _husband_ , tell him everything she wanted to tell him, before getting rid of Lex Luthor for good.

At that thought, a soft smile appeared on her lips and apparently the three women who were staring at her took that as a good sign, because she could feel their relief. She would keep that smile on her face until this was over, as long as she held on to that thought, she could do it.

Lex was ready, as well, wearing his neatly-pressed tuxedo, and standing in the study where the small wedding would take place. The priest was already there, along with most of the staff. Their presence was merely a formality, however. This wasn't a celebration of love, but a celebration of his victory. Of his ownership. Chloe Sullivan would truly be stuck with him after that day, and in less than a week, the world would know the true identities of both the Red-Blue Blur and The Green Arrow. A genuine smile touched his lips. And he'd still be able to keep his hold over Chloe because her mother still lived in _his_ house. She wouldn't dare act against him at that possible cost.

Because he wouldn't hesitate to kill Moira Sullivan. Or at least cause her a little physical harm if it was necessary.

Chloe was his and that was that. It had started out with simply wanting revenge against Oliver and Clark, and even toward her for turning her back on him to begin with. But now, with this ability of hers, he was able to deal with his anger and rage in ways he'd never been able to before and he _liked_ it. And while he was certain that Joseph knew something wasn't quite right, he also didn't care. The bruises faded quickly.

He was already looking forward to their wedding night. His smile widened a little at what he had planned. And then he saw her, walking through the double doors of the study, and the staff was rising to their feet as she slowly headed toward him. Her face was pale, but she was beautiful nonetheless.

His father stood in the front row, a troubled expression on his face, but Lex paid no attention.

He reached out and took his bride-to-be's hand in his own as she reached him, and gave it a _loving_ squeeze.

Her expression didn't change when she saw him, the soft smile firmly in her face. She noticed Joseph standing in the corner but tried not to look at him, she wondered if Oliver already knew this was happening. But it didn't matter. She was marrying Lex Luthor and even though he probably had taken all necessary precautions, he was too sure of himself to believe _he_ would be the one to die, and when he did die, she would take his entire empire and destroy it.

Her smile grew a little wider. His plants would shut down, the land and buildings would be sold, and because she knew what it was like to depend on a LuthorCorp salary, all the money would be donated to the lower class employees. Not the directors and CEOs, but the managers and secretaries.

The priest looked between them before getting started and in less than a half hour, he pronounced them husband and wife.

_Til death do we part,_ Lex thought, turning toward her and kissing her deeply.

Chloe returned the kiss that time, once this was over with, she only had one thing to focus on.

"Are you ready for the reception, Darling?" he asked, smiling.

"Absolutely," she smiled at him and pulled back slightly, the smell of him made her want to shudder and be sick, she had to try and hold her breath whenever he was too close.

The staff was clapping politely as they made their way out of the study and he guided her into the ballroom, which was already set up and decorated. Within moments the entire room was full of the staff, and his father as well. "Let's dance." He smiled at her, pulling her onto the floor as music began to play.

She placed her hands over his shoulders and let him lead her, her smile never faltering although she kept looking around the room and not at him. Lionel Luthor was the only guest that _wasn't_ on Lex's payroll, she hoped at least one person from the staff would have the guts to tell someone in the media how odd that was. They all avoided her eyes, including Joseph, but Lionel looked at her so intensely as she and Lex moved around the ballroom, she felt like he was trying to read her mind. She couldn't help but wonder if he would help her or try to stop her if he found out she was planning his son's death.

"I have a wonderful night planned for us tonight," Lex murmured, moving his mouth close to her ear.

Chloe shuddered this time, but her smile was in place. She didn't give him the satisfaction of any other replies, however. She wasn't talking to him unless she absolutely had to. Except, Lionel seemed to have noticed her reaction to Lex's proximity, because his eyes narrowed.

"Don't worry, Chloe. Tonight we'll be in the bedroom," he told her softly, pulling her closer to him.

She didn't know if that was better or worse. He seemed to switch between being a complete monster and being gentle in an almost loving degree. She couldn't tell which one disturbed her more because while he was being a monster, he hurt her, while he was being gentle, he touched her.

"I know what you've been doing," he whispered, his voice dropping lower. "And it's not going to happen tonight."

Chloe raised one eyebrow and this time, her smile did falter, "what are you talking about?"

"You're not going to shut me out tonight, Chloe. You're going to be _with_ me," he informed her.

She almost sighed in relief when he spoke. For a second, she had been afraid that he found out about the pills, a little more relaxed, she was actually curious enough to ask him a question this time, "and how are you going to manage that?"

"Because if you're not with me tonight, Chloe, someone will pay the price and for once it won't be you," he said with a smile, his eyes cold.

She raised one eyebrow, "it's survival instinct, Lex, shutting down when you are uncomfortable with something."

Lex smiled and reached up to touch her face, stroking it lightly. "I would think your love for your mother would override that survival instinct."

Chloe had to stop herself from threatening him back, she couldn't give him any kind of hint of what she was planning, so she put on her best acting skills and swallowed hard.

"Do you understand, Chloe?" His voice was dark and warning, but the smile on his face didn't fade.

"Yes," she whispered, knowing that he was feeding on her pretend fear, which meant that it had worked.

"Good. It would be quite a tragedy if my new mother-in-law died the day after our wedding."

"That won't be necessary," she said then took a deep breath, going back to looking around the room. If Oliver could bring her the drugs sometime tomorrow, she could start everything tomorrow night. Drugging him in his sleep would be easy, he never woke up when she got up to go to the bathroom.

"Glad to hear it," he murmured, kissing her cheek, then the corner of her mouth.

Chloe closed her eyes slightly, glancing at Joseph in the corner of the room. She wanted to let him know to give Oliver the go sign before he left, but she didn't want to risk anything.

"Mind if I cut in?" Lionel smiled at his son, then at Chloe. "I believe it's tradition for the father-in-law to dance with the bride at least once."

She blinked and turned to look at Lionel, a little surprised by the sudden interruption but with a soft smile at Lex, she pulled away and nodded at Lionel, "I believe you're right."

Lex kissed her softly and pulled away, as well. "I'll go get us some champagne." He headed away.

Lionel studied her for a moment, then wound his arms around her waist. "Well, Ms..." He paused. " _Luthor_. I do believe you've gotten yourself into yet another predicament that won't end well."

Chloe smiled a little more and raised her eyebrows at the older Luthor, "is that what you say to all the women who marry your son, _Lionel_?"

"I do hope you're not going to try and get me to believe that this isn't some kind of elaborate sham," he responded, arching an eyebrow at her in return.

"I think you know Lex and I well enough to know that I would never fall for someone like him and he will never love anyone but himself, so no, I'm not." She said simply, smile in place, her eyes on his face as they danced.

"Does Clark have any idea what's going on? I noticed the lack of his presence at the ceremony."

"I wouldn't know, I wasn't informed about this until this past Tuesday and Lex made all the decisions, including the guest list, himself," she told him casually.

Lionel paused at that information. "What is it that he has dangling over your head?" he asked curiously.

"And why would I tell you that? So you can use it against me too?" She pretended to laugh and looked up at him again.

A smile touched his lips. "Touche." There was a hint of amusement in his eyes. The music ended a moment later. "Well, then. Welcome to the family." He kissed her cheek.

Chloe nodded and smiled at him, a little amused at the fact that Lex actually disgusted her a lot more than Lionel did now. Things definitely had changed a lot in the past few years and well, Lionel _was_ the one to help her on Dark Thrusday. She smiled at him as she stepped away, "thank you."

He nodded his head at her, then moved away, disappearing into the crowd of Luthor-Staff.

Lex returned to her side a moment later, two glasses of champagne in his hands. "Here you go, Darling."

She took the champagne from him and smiled, "it really is too bad you can't dance with my mom," she told him quietly, but didn't sip on the champagne.

He paused. "I could have given her the serum for the day," he said thoughtfully.

Chloe frowned a little as she considered then shook her head, "she wouldn't have wanted that," Chloe herself wouldn't have wanted that, she didn't want her mother to see her like that, but once Lex was dead, maybe she could find some of the serum and let her mom know the good news.

He shrugged slightly and watched as the staff began to file out of the room. "I told everyone to take the rest of the weekend off," he told her.

" _Everyone_?" She asked, raising her eyebrows slightly as she watched them do the same, turning her back to Lex as she searched for Joseph. If everyone would be off this was the perfect time, she had to let Ollie know.

"Of course. It's our weekend now, just the two of us. No interruptions." He smiled, winding his arm around her waist.

Chloe was so busy looking for Joseph, she almost forgot to react to his words, but she caught herself just in time and although her eyes stayed on the crowd, she swallowed hard, turning slightly toward Lex so she could look over his shoulder, luckily, her heels made her tall enough to be able to do that.

"Who are you looking for, Chloe?" he questioned, studying her intently and then following her gaze.

She blinked and looked up at him, "your dad seemed overly concerned with why I was here, I don't want him walking around and finding my mom." She told him, her eyes a little wide with fear as she hoped he believed her.

He arched an eyebrow at her, took a sip of his champagne. "I can assure you that my father won't harm your mother even if he does find her."

"I don't want him to have the power that _you_ have over me," for something she had just come up with, she thought she was doing a good job at being convincing.

"Don't worry, Chloe. My father will never put his hands on you."

And apparently he believed her, good. She stared at him for a second then sighed softly, pretending to relax slightly.

"Because you belong to _me_ ," he murmured against her ear. "Just me."

As soon as he leaned in, her eyes were around the room again, but apparently, she was too late. Chloe held her breath and watched as Joseph's back exited the room. She was on her own.

Lex watched as the rest of the staff filed out of the mansion, leaving the two of them alone for the forseeable future. His lips curved into a smile as he looked at her. "I have a gift for you," he told her, sliding his arm around her waist and leading her from the room, as well.

She glanced at him then looked ahead as they started walking, if she tried to get him drunk, he would be suspicious, but maybe she could mash some drugs and put it on his drink somehow.

He led her down the corridor and into their bedroom, moving to his nightstand and retrieving a small object. He returned to her side. "Open your mouth."

Chloe raised an eyebrow, was he going to drug her first? She frowned, "what is that?"

"Just something to help you relax a little," he assured her with an easy smile, holding the tiny tablet with his fingers.

Again, Lex was one step ahead of her, although she couldn't be sure of what exactly it was, considering he told her he wanted her with him this time around, "you're drugging me for this one? How considerate of you."

His smile widened and he slipped it between her lips. "Swallow, Darling," he murmured, watching her closely.

She pulled away from his hand but swallowed, whatever it was, it couldn't make things worse than they normally were.

He kissed her forehead and rested his hands on her waist, guiding her over to the bed. "That should kick in within a half hour or so. Why don't you lie down and just relax?"

"What did you just give me?" She asked again, pulling on her dress as she sat down on the bed.

Lex smiled. "Have you ever tried Ecstacy, Chloe?" He raised an eyebrow.

Her eyes widened slightly and she shook her head, but she knew exactly what it was supposed to do to her. Lex had just made her life easier, now she didn't have to pretend to be there with him, she could just let the drugs talk.

"Let's just say it will heighten the experience for you," he said with a smirk. "Your physical sensations will be far beyond what you've ever had. It usually lasts for about eight hours," he informed her, sitting down beside her on the bed.

"Well, lucky you," she raised an eyebrow, "and you're not taking any?"

"I like to stay in control," he told her, reaching behind her and unzipping the back of her wedding dress.

She sat up and glanced at him, "I'm sure you've done this a lot before."

"Somehow I think this time will be the most enjoyable by far."

"I'm sure it will be for me."

Lex smiled as he finished undressing her, then looped her hands through the headboard, cuffing them in place. "I wonder if Oliver will enjoy it."

Chloe frowned at that, shifting so she wasn't pulling on her arms, "I thought you had taken his cameras down."

"Oh, I did," he assured her. "But this one's a special gift he'll be getting tomorrow." He pointed over to the bookshelf where a red light was flashing.

"I hope there is sound, it would be a shame for him to only get half of it," she said, staring at him.

Lex smiled at her. "I agree." He undid his tie and tossed it to the floor, loosening the collar of his shirt.

Chloe took a deep breath and looked over at him then at the camera. She hoped she didn't talk too much while she was out of it, didn't tell Lex what her plans were, she wondered how much control over her mouth she would have.

He raised an eyebrow. "Tell him hello, Chloe." His voice was soft.

"I'm sure he will stop watching the second he realizes what this is, Lex. He's not a sick fuck like you are."

He chuckled, then reached over to the nightstand and opened the drawer. "Somehow I think he'll watch." He pulled a knife from the drawer and shut it once more, holding it up for her to see.

Chloe's eyes widened as she saw the knife, "what are you doing?"

He smiled at her. "I told you that your sensations would be heightened. I never said they'd be _pleasurable_ sensations."

She tugged on the handcuffs, her eyes on him as she shifted on the bed, "are you going to kill me?"

"Of course not." He leaned down and kissed her cheek.

"Then what are you going to do?" She asked even as she felt her muscles getting a little heavier and relaxing without her trying, she wanted to get her answers while she was coherent.

"Just going to send Oliver a message," he told her, sitting down atop her thighs to keep her from being able to move too much.

"What kind of message?" She asked, her teeth clenching as she stared up at him.

Lex smiled and pressed the tip of the knife against her stomach, dragging it down her skin slowly and then moving the knife in the opposite direction, forming an 'L' with her blood.

Chloe cried out but tried her best not to move, closing her eyes tightly, her hands turning into fists.

His smile widened a little as he began to carve the 'u', pressing down harder on the blade. "Let him hear you scream, Chloe."

At that, she pursed her lips together tightly, but it hurt, a lot, and it was a different kind of pain than he usually inflicted on her, it was sharper, more focused in one area.

"The quieter you stay, the longer I'll draw this out," he said with a smirk. "And the more that drug kicks in, the more you'll feel it."

She wasn't about to give in to him, but she couldn't stop herself from sobbing as she felt the knife digging a little deeper.

Lex reached over and picked up his glass of champagne, taking a sip and then pouring it over her wounds.

Chloe screamed loudly, her back arching as much as she could with him sitting on top of her, now everything was burning and she hoped Oliver wouldn't watch that far, she didn't want him to see her like that.

He smiled in satisfaction as he picked up the knife once more. "That's better."


	19. A Fine Line

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things aren't always what they seem.

Authors: [](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/profile)[**chloeas**](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/) and [](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/profile)[**dl_greenarrow**](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/)  
Title: A Fine Line  
Rating: Very strong NC-17  
Summary: Things aren't always what they seem.  
Warnings: This fic has a lot of Chlex in it, and it is about Chlollie but there is a lot of Chlex. It's dark, full of mature, violent, adult situations and could be triggering, this is your warning. It takes place during season six.

The buzzer from downstairs awoke him from a restless, dreamless sleep and he made his way off the sofa and over to the elevator. When he didn't spot anyone on the video feed, he frowned a little, but when he spotted the package, his frown deepened and he waited for the elevator to reach his floor. He opened the gate and stepped on it for a moment, picking up the small envelope, opening it and raising an eyebrow at the blank DVD. No label of any kind, no writing on the package.

If someone wanted to get his attention, that did it.

He yawned as he made his way over to his computer, popping the DVD into the player uncertainly.

In two seconds flat, he was wide awake.

And five minutes after that, he was dressed, gun and video feed scrambler in hand as he made his way out of his apartment, rage in his eyes.

* * *

Chloe was just managing to doze off, even though her muscles were still jerking from the drugs he'd given her, most of it had worn off already. The cuts on her stomach hadn't healed at all, the word 'Luthor' was clear on her skin and she shuddered. Her body was sucking all her energy, probably trying to heal her as well as get rid of what was left of the drugs in her system, but Lex was refusing to let her sleep. Jerking her awake every time she managed to close her eyes.

Lex watched her intently. And as she began to drift off to sleep, he smacked her hard across the face. "I didn't say you could sleep, Chloe."

She frowned at him tiredly and shook her head, "leave me alone."

 

"Not until I'm ready," he responded. Although he did reach up and undo the handcuffs around her wrists.

She sighed deeply, pulling her arms down slowly and closing her eyes, although her arms didn't hurt as much as they did when he left her standing, they still hurt. "What are you waiting for?"

 

"Waiting until I get bored," he responded.

Chloe rubbed her arms for a second then adjusted her bra lightly, covering what she could of herself.

"Your modesty is cute considering how much time I've spent exploring your body in the last few hours." He smirked at her.

She ignored him, looking down at herself for a long moment, on top of the word carved on her stomach, she also had the usual marks, the whipping and slapping and everything else had happened too.

Lex pressed a kiss to her stomach, and then started to undo his pants.

Chloe shuddered, looking over toward the window, she could close her eyes while he was distracted and maybe she would manage to fall asleep.

 

Before he even managed to get the belt undone again, he heard a shout from down the corridor.

"LEX!"

Her eyes opened wide as she heard the angry voice shouting for Lex, and it took her a long moment and them calling out for Lex again for her to realize who it was, "No." She said, trying to sit up but laying back down because of the cuts on her stomach. No, he couldn't be there, not like this.

Lex smirked down at her, pressing a hand down on her stomach as he stood up. "I guess he got the little gift I sent. Why don't you wait here?" He reached into the drawer of the nightstand and pulled out a gun.

She could hear Oliver opening every door down the hallway with a loud bang, clearly looking for the bedroom, "Ollie!" She called as loud as she could, "he has a gun!" She wanted to get up, but Lex's hand on her stomach made everything burn again.

 

* * *

Oliver heard her warning, raising his own gun as fury shot through him. He should have acted sooner. He should never have let it get this far. He should have killed Lex months ago, before any of this had started. Should have taken him out after what he'd done to Bart months ago in 33.1.

He wouldn't make the same mistake twice. He watched as Lex stepped into the hallway in front of him and before the other man even had a chance to react, he slammed his fist into his face, hard.

Chloe watched as Lex stumbled when Oliver hit him, with a deep breath, she managed to push herself up, whimpering in pain as she did. But she had to get up, she had to help Oliver end this.

 

Lex reached up when he felt the blood seeping from his nose. Before he could lift his gun, Oliver hit him again, harder, and this time he hit the floor, hard.

"You enjoy hurting her?" Oliver delivered a vicious kick to the other man's ribs. "How do _you_ like it?"

Her legs and hands were shaking from the ecstasy and her head was hurting, but she managed to stand and reached over, grabbing the knife Lex had been using on her and starting toward where they were.

 

Oliver wasn't paying attention to the gun in Lex's hand. He was simply focused on causing the other man a fraction of the amount of pain he'd been causing Chloe. When the shot rang out, the sound rang in his ears, his vision blurring for a moment from the intensity.

"I always win, Oliver," Lex said darkly, wiping the blood from his nose on his shirt sleeve.

Chloe stilled when she heard a gun being fired, her eyes widening as she saw Lex pointing his gun at Oliver and with shaky hands, she raised the knife and threw it at Lex's arm, holding her breath as she watched the blade cutting through his skin.

 

Lex growled at the sudden pain and turned his head to look at her. "You're gonna pay for that," he said darkly.

"No. You are." Oliver raised his own gun, leveling it at Lex's head and pulling the trigger.

Her eyes widened and she couldn't look away from what Oliver had just done to Lex. He hadn't even given him time to react and the bullet had gone straight through his head.

Oliver let out a shaky breath, his vision blurring again. Then he shifted his gaze to Chloe, a pained expression on his face at the sight of her bruised, bloodied and cut skin. "God, Chloe."

Blinking when she heard her name, she turned to look at him, her eyes widening even more when she saw the blood on the front of his shirt and started making her way towards him, "you're hurt."

His eyebrows furrowed at her words and then he looked down at the rapidly-growing bloodstain spreading across his shirt. "Oh." He felt his body's center of gravity tilt, pulling him down onto the floor.

"Ollie," she whispered, managing to take a couple more steps forward then kneeling on the floor next to where he had fallen between the hallway and the bedroom, "we have to call Bart so he can take you to a hospital." She leaned down and winced as she her stomach started burning again, "he shot you."

 

He drew in a breath, closing his eyes for a moment. "He's...dead, right?"

Chloe couldn't bring herself to look at Lex again but she nodded, she had seen it when the bullet went through his forehead, "he's dead. You need to stay with me, I told you I couldn't deal if something went wrong," she was so tired, but she shifted closer, placing a hand over the bullet wound on his stomach, "you have to be okay."

He grimaced at the pressure from her hand, pain shooting through him. "Sorry I didn't get here sooner." There was guilt in his voice, regret. "I'm so sorry."

She shook her head, staring at him, "he's gone, and it's thanks to you." Her voice was starting to break and she was starting to feel more tired, but her body was getting warmer, "stay with me, we need to find you help."

"You, too," he whispered as his eyes began to drift shut involuntarily.

"Ollie, please," she murmured, her eyes getting teary as she shifted closer to him, "look at me."

He heard her voice in the distance as he felt his own body growing cold, darkness tugging at the edges of his consciousness. And then suddenly there was light. Bright, glowing light, and even with his eyes shut it hurt. He raised a hand to cover them, his eyebrows furrowing.

Chloe saw the light too, but she couldn't keep her eyes open any longer, she was exhausted, "need to find help," she murmured, sliding until she was laying on the floor next to him, one of her hands still under his head, the other still over her stomach and her body was getting so warm, she was surprised she wasn't sweating. She felt like she had a fever and her body was shaking harder.

 

He felt her trembling beside him at the same time he realized the pain in his stomach was dissipating. He opened his eyes slowly. "Chloe?"

She opened her eyes slightly and tried to look at him, but she didn't have enough energy to speak, she blinked slowly, her body jerking but at least, it seemed to be getting cooler.

 

Oliver sat up slowly, reaching out and touching her face, which was growing paler by the second. Alarm shot through him. "Chloe? Chloe!" He pulled her against him so she was half-laying his lap, cradling her body against his chest. In the back of his mind, he knew she'd healed him. But her own body wasn't even healed. "Chloe, can you hear me?"

Her eyes were closed again, but she turned towards him slightly as he pulled her on his lap, "you okay?" She whispered, vaguely remembering that she might have healed him when he was in the hospital.

 

"I'm fine," he whispered, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "You're freezing." He picked her up as carefully as he could, carrying her down the hall.

A tired smile appeared on her lips but she didn't open her eyes, "I'm tired," she whispered, "rest." She mumbled, her head falling on his shoulder and her body relaxing completely.

Now she could sleep.

 

* * *

Oliver paced the length of the waiting room at Smallville General, eyes wild, blood staining his shirt. She hadn't been breathing when he'd gotten her there, and the doctors and nurses had rushed her into a trauma room what seemed like hours ago. He was distantly aware of the others' presence. Bart, Vic, and AC. He'd called them as soon as they'd taken Chloe from his arms, and he knew they were sitting there in the waiting room, sitting and waiting while he paced, unable to sit still.

She'd healed him.

She'd healed him and then she'd _stopped breathing_.

Fear knotted his stomach as he rubbed a hand over his face.

Bart was staring blankly at the hallway where doctors kept coming in from. When he got the call from Oliver, he knew something wasn't right, but he didn't expect to be asked to do what Oliver asked him. When he got to the mansion, he knew he would find Lex dead somewhere, and he knew cleaning it wasn't going to be an easy job. But imagining it and seeing a man with a hole in his head were two different things. Bart had taken the body to where Oliver told him to take it and buried it. Then he had to go back and clean all the blood and evidence that Oliver was ever there.

He didn't bother cleaning the sheets, or the bed, though. Lex must have done something awful to Chloe for Oliver to snap like that, and he didn't want him not to be blamed for it. And even though Bart knew it was wrong, he couldn't help but be relieved that Lex was dead. He didn't have to be told what he was doing to Chloe, the looks on Oliver's face were enough information.

 

Victor and AC exchanged a worried look, then they both looked at Bart, then at Ollie, though they remained silent.

Oliver looked up in time to see one of the doctors who'd taken Chloe heading toward him. He straightened, the breath catching in his throat.

"Mr. Queen," the doctor said, walking over to him and shaking his head a little, "I'm sorry, there wasn't anything we could do."

"What?" AC rose to his feet, his eyes wide with shock.

"No, there has to be a mistake." Oliver shook his head.

Bart was on his feet too and stepped closer, his eyes wide.

"She was seriously injured when you brought her in, we found marks around her throat, a fracture might have caused her to stop breathing, but we won't know anything conclusive until the autopsy results are released."

 

He stood frozen in place, his expression blank as the sights and sounds around him dissolved completely. He'd been too late. He'd broken his promise. He hadn't saved her at all. And now she was gone.

"What kind of marks around her throat?" Victor spoke up.

The Doctor considered for a moment, "it looks like someone might have tried to choke her." He turned to Oliver, "Mr. Queen, we had to contact the police and one of the officers would like to speak with you since you were the one who brought her in."

AC swallowed hard, looking over at Bart and then at the doctor silently.

"Sure," Oliver murmured blankly.

Bart glanced at AC and stepped forward, "I was there too," he told the Doctor, he had already worked out a story in his head and he figured Oliver wouldn't be able to think of much.

 

The doctor nodded slightly. "I'm sure the officer will wish to speak with both of you then." He paused. "I"m sorry for your loss." He nodded toward the police officers, who had been watching the group carefully from across the hall. At the nod, the men headed toward them.

"Mr. Queen. I'm Officer Daniels." The man held his hand out to shake Oliver's, but Oliver didn't do so.

"Let's get this over with."

* * *

Clark rushed into Smallville General with wide eyes, he had gotten a call from Victor almost an hour ago, but he was with Lana and her aunt in Metropolis, so he couldn't just pick up and leave. He managed an excuse, though and ran back to Smallville as fast as he could, looking around for a second and seeing AC and Victor in a corner of the room, "what happened?"

AC looked at him solemnly. "We're not completely sure," he admitted, his voice very quiet. "Clark..." He shut his eyes for a moment. "It's Chloe. She's uh..."

His eyes widened more, "she's what?"

 

"She's dead, Clark." Oliver stood behind the other man, his voice devoid of emotion.

Clark turned around, his heart stopping for a second, "what happened?"

"You suddenly care now?" he asked bitterly.

His jaw tightened and all he could do was stare at Oliver for a full second, "I want to see her."

"Then talk to the doctors," Oliver said flatly, expression stony.

Bart stepped up behind Oliver, not looking at Clark. He thought things had gone well with the police, he had done most of the talking and Oliver had gone along with it. Oliver told them he went to the mansion after Lex sent him a DVD, which Oliver promised to hand the police once he went back to get it, and Bart told them he tagged along with Oliver because he was shaken up, but when they got to the mansion, they found Chloe like that on the bed and Lex gone. He just hoped he had done a good enough job of cleaning up Lex's and Oliver's blood from the floor.

"Let's go, man," he said quietly to Oliver, he didn't think they should talk to Clark at the hospital.

Staring at Clark for another moment, he turned away and headed toward the hospital exit without a word.

Victor drew in a breath and let it out slowly, looking from Oliver's retreating figure to Clark. "See you," he said quietly, following.

Clark watched as AC followed the other three silently, his head spinning. It didn't make sense, but the way they were acting, there was only one person who could have hurt her. He had to talk to Lex. But after he saw her.

* * *

Oliver stood silently at the huge windows overlooking Metropolis from his clocktower.

"Why don't you let me run that DVD to the police station?" AC asked quietly. They'd been back at his place for nearly forty minutes and the billionaire had yet to say a word. He hadn't looked at any of them, he'd just stood by the window staring outside. He had no idea what had happened, other than the fact that Chloe and Lex were both dead. And he knew that Oliver had killed Lex, because Bart had gone to clean up the mansion. None of it really made any sense to him.

Bart wasn't doing much better than Oliver, but the DVD should be enough to prove everyone that Oliver hadn't been the one to hurt Chloe, or at least he hoped so since he really didn't know much about what was on it except for what Oliver had told them 'he was showing me what he could do to her'. "Yeah, probably should," he agreed quietly with AC then turned to Oliver, "What _did_ happen in there?"

He shut his eyes at the question, leaning his forehead against the cool window pane.

Victor glanced around the group and then sat down at Oliver's computer, taking a deep breath and hitting play on the DVD.

Bart's eyes widened a little but he turned to look at the computer, stepping closer so he could see. Maybe that would answer some questions.

AC did the same, his eyes widening a little, as well when the DVD began to play and he caught sight of Chloe on the bed, hands cuffed to the headboard, only wearing undergarments. "Oh God," he whispered.

_"...not a sick fuck like you."_ The loathing in Chloe's voice was obvious.

At the sound, Oliver turned quickly. "Don't--" he croaked.

Bart couldn't take his eyes off of the screen, as much as he wanted to, he couldn't look away as Lex started carving something on Chloe's stomach, his hands turning into fists against his sides, his jaw tightening as she screamed in pain.

 

AC felt sick to his stomach, but he couldn't look away, either. His chest felt tight as understanding dawned on him. And when the elevator dinged, he didn't move or look up.

"I think we've seen enough." Victor swallowed hard, and stopped the DVD.

Clark had heard the voices when he was in the elevator and he was sure he had heard Chloe, so when he looked around, he frowned, "what is going on?"

Oliver's jaw tightened. "I don't recall giving you an invite."

"What happened to Chloe? Where is Lex?" He demanded, ignoring Oliver. He had seen Chloe's body, but he still didn't believe that Lex was the only one responsible for it.

"Lex is dead," AC answered, looking up finally.

"Well deserved," Bart murmured, staring at the blank screen.

"What did you do?" Clark demanded, staring at Oliver.

Oliver stared right back, his eyes cold, hard. "I shot him. In the head," he said evenly. "Which doesn't compare to what I would like to have done to him."

Clark's jaw was tight as he stared at Oliver, "and Chloe?"

He faltered, his chest tightening at her name.

Clark stepped closer, his eyes on Oliver's face, "what happened to her?"

"Lex shot me." His voice dropped.

AC whipped his head around to look at Oliver with wide-eyes.

"She was meteor-infected. I knew she had a healing ability." He shut his eyes. "She healed me."

Bart's eyes widened too and he stared at Oliver too, he didn't know about _that_.

"How did she _die_ , Oliver?" Clark demanded, his voice louder as he stepped even closer.

"In my arms!" His breathing was ragged. "She died in my arms!"

At that, Clark stilled, staring at him for a long moment, his jaw tightening so hard, if he was human, he would have shattered his teeth, "because she healed you?"

"I don't know." His gut twisted at the words.

"No, wait." Victor held his hands up. "The doctor said there were marks around her neck. He said there may have been a fracture that made her stop breathing."

Oliver shut his eyes, turning away from all of them.

Bart frowned at Clark then nodded with Vic, "yeah, we don't know what happened, not even the doctors do."

"I'm going to find out." Clark said, looking from Bart and Victor then back to Oliver, "you can be sure of that." His voice was low and he stared at the other man for a moment before speeding away.

 

AC hit the eject button on Oliver's harddrive, carefully picking up the DVD. "I should get this to the station," he said quietly. "I'll be back."

"I won't be here." Oliver's voice was quiet, distant.

Bart frowned, staring at Oliver, "what do you mean?"

 

"I'm done," he said quietly, not looking at any of them. "I'm leaving. I'm not coming back." He turned to head down the hall.

Bart ran and stopped in front of him, "where are you going?"

 

"I don't know. It doesn't matter."

"What are you talking about? Of course it matters." AC followed him, Victor right behind him.

Oliver's eyes were red-rimmed. "Lex knew. He knew _everything_. About us, about Clark. He knew all of it."

"Lex is dead," Bart pointed out, more than a hint of anger in his voice, "it doesn't matter anymore, he can't tell anyone."

"It still matters, Bart. Because that's how he got to _her_. He used it against her for months. He beat her, he raped her, he _tortured_ her. Because I dragged her into this mess. I didn't follow through. I didn't protect her." His voice was strained and he shook his head, moving away from them.

Victor stepped up and shook his head, "none of it is your fault, Oliver."

 

"I told her I'd stop him. That I'd take care of it." He swallowed thickly, heading into his room and grabbing a duffel bag from the closet. "I didn't. Not in time."

The three of them followed, Bart glanced at AC and Vic then looked at Oliver, "you can't just leave, man."

"I set up an account for the three of you in case anything ever happened to me. It's on the harddrive of my laptop. The account number and the passcode is there. I appreciate everything you've all done. All the work." He stuffed a couple of pairs of jeans and a couple of shirts into the bag and zipped it. "I have no doubt you'll all go on to do incredible things."

AC looked at Victor, then Bart, a hint of alarm in his eyes. "Ollie..."

"I can't lead you anymore," he said quietly, finally turning to look at them.

"Of course you can!" Bart's eyes were wide as he stepped forward, "we don't even know what to do without you telling us, dude!"

Oliver eyes stung as he drew in a breath. "You'll be fine, Bart. Trust your instincts." He swallowed hard, wishing he'd followed his own advice much sooner. "And watch each other's backs." He hefted the bag onto his shoulder and moved past them, down the hall and toward the elevator.

~Fini...for now.~

Please don't kill us. There's a sequel coming!


End file.
